3 Reasons I Missed Blogging

Recently I had a lot of fun with a 30 day blogging challenge. Well, as life would have it sometimes, I got distracted and delayed by other pressing projects. Ultimately this means while I had 30 posts in 30 days, I didn't get 30 days of blogging in.

Now while I could be feeling down and blue about missing the target. I am actually quite pleased. What I discovered was that I really, really love blogging! What I also noticed were 3 very prominent reasons that I miss the daily joy of writing and musing with my thoughts.

Reason #1 why I miss blogging: I shared a sense of connectedness with my friends, colleagues, mentors and proteges while blogging. The act of writing daily in my posts kept my attention and focus on what I had to contribute to others. Ultimately this brought me closer to the extraordinary things those same folks had going on.

For instance, my good friend Nancy Juetten of Main Street Media Savvy and I had a few interactions during my blog challenge that proved to be profitable and rewarding for both. Her DIY Publici-Tea express is a great workshop, one that I have attended multiple times and got to share with others through my blog. I enjoyed contributing to the event through blogging, tweeting, facebooking and my coaching circles and receiving updates from her on the status of her growing event. I learned a lot on how to market and promote events for optimum return on investment thanks to this connectedness.

Reason #2 why I miss blogging: I enjoy musing about my daily thoughts and experiences, without blogging, it just stays in my head. While I am a verbal person and one who is very social, having the chance to relate to people in under 500 words a day is a kick! It gets me to bottom line my thoughts, and inquiries which for me can at times be a stretch.

Reason #3 why I miss blogging: My intention with both my blogs and as a coach is to work at shifting perspective with my clients. Whether it is working with Teams, Business Leaders, or Soloprenures, my heart is to proactively work toward shifting perceptive and opening up possibility. With blogging, I have that opportunity every day and I embrace it wholeheartedly.

So whatever state of blogging you may be in, I encourage you to look at what schedule may work best for you. Something that is more than just once a week for maximum benefit personally and professionally. Hey, why not try a 30 day blog challenge on for size. You never know what you might get in return. For me, I got two blogs, a huge number of followers and some great dialogue for future posts! The experience was simply put, priceless.

What's your perspective on change?

At all levels, making career transitions can be among the most challenging to navigate. I know this personally because about 5 years ago now I embarked upon a major career change of my one. Leaving what many perceived to be a "secure" job with government for the Private Sector and Entrepreneurship. It left many people wondering and doing a bit of head scratching, truth be told.

People could not get their head around why I would leave a job like I had for something so unpredictable and solely reliant upon, me.

Looking back now, I see that the transition that I made was not only for me, it was for who would be come my future clients. Interesting perspective right? Most change really is easier to handle and balance out when we look at multiple different perspectives. It is how we handle the decision process, in general, that makes up how we navigate change. Let me explain.

The perspective that I held closely on change was and is a very positive one. I believe that change, when planned and thought out can be very good. I also believe that those changes that catch us off guard can be equally as (if not more) gratifying. It is the frame of mind we look at the situation with that counts. Getting locked on to the way it "was" or "should" be can derail us real quick and in a hurry.

What works well, whether change is handed to us or we seek it out on our own, is to know the strategy necessary for the smooth transition. That comes from knowing and understanding your heart motive during the transition. While it may be handed to you without choice you can transition through very easily when you know what is important to you. Seeking ways to find the opportunity in the midst of transition will give you a greater sense of efficacy in the midst of sometimes challenging circumstances.

Coaching Question: How do you handle change? What has derailed you in the past with transition? What commitment are you willing to make to yourself in support of smooth transitions?

The 4 reasons that got me to Yes!

Today a message caught my attention on Facebook that I couldn't walk away from. It was a simple call to action, the very type that I use with clients all the time. A clear invitation that when put to action will produce extraordinary results.

So, what was the invitation? "New Post: 30 day Blogging Challenge - Are you in?" That was it. One bottom-line question for a bottom-line girl. I clicked on the link provided by the author Sandra Martini and read with excitement. Before I got to the end of the post, I knew my answer was a clear YES. It was just the thing I wanted for inspiration and motivation for change.

So this, the first post of 30 in 30, is simple and to the point. And in the momentum the invitation has created, it leaves me wondering one thing. When something moves you to action, how quickly do you actually take action?

Today my quick, inspired action was because of 4 little things.

1) Three words - One big question: "Are You In" caught my eye and caused me to click on the link provided to find out more. That simple question made me want to say yes, even before I read the entire invitation.

2) A Blogging Challenge has always been something I wanted to do and trying to blog for 30 days in a row sound like a fun place to start.

3) Reminiscent Inspiration from my favorite movie of the year, Julie & Julia. I left that theatre with tears glistening on my cheeks at the realization of a dream dismissed. My heart is to shift perspective and challenge assumptions while inspiring bold conversation - the best way to do that in the age of technology, be a voracious blogger. Time to pick up the dream and play.

4) Right Place, Right Time. "30 Day Blogging Challenges are a great way to get in the habit of doing one ordinary thing each and every day which moves your business forward." This was the sentence from Sandra's blog that had the greatest impact on getting to my YES. I am always seeking ways to 'move forward' in life and business, here is my newest opportunity.

I invite you to join me on this journey for 30 days. What will it take to get you to YES?

The World is Conspiring Against Me!

Have you ever thought that the world is conspiring against you? Well there have been times in life and business that I have. I mean, let's be truthful here. We have all been faced with what seem to be insurmountable obstacles in our path and as we strive for direction or clarity, we can get discouraged.

We even wonder what on earth did we do to deserve ______(fill in the blank) and how are we going to get beyond it? For business owners, this can be an ongoing dance between joy and emotional turmoil, wondering what is going to happen next. The trap in getting stuck in a place like this is that we often start making decisions out of fear vs. logic. We allow our emotions to be the driver instead of our vision and plan.

Several of the clients that I have coached come to me because they are feeling stuck on the merry-go-round of discouragement and fear-filled decision making. This is a recipe for catastrophe if not addressed at the root level. The root level is what got us to that place to begin with, so we must go there to change it. To uncover what 'it' is means taking time to reflect on what has happened and reconstruct next steps so that, we don't keep recreating the same old situation. We must always remember that if we are making a decision based out of fear, it is probably the wrong decision.

So, you may be asking yourself, 'great Tammy, I get the fear piece but I still don't get the why?' Well that is an interesting question, and one that people ask all the time. "Why is this happening to me." It is in those moments that you feel the world is conspiring against you - right? I say, the world is conspiring not against you, but conspiring to make you a Success! There are no accidents in life or business. We can learn from every meeting, encounter, employee or vendor that we come in contact with. It is the way we look at those Giants or Mountains in our path that make the difference.

3 Tips for facing those Giants and moving those Mountains

1. Reflect on where you've been
   You want to pause and look backward to correct course moving forward. It also aids in noticing how those things which seemed to be obstacles weren't really in the way, they were there for my protection.
   
2. Hit is head on
   That's right, no fancy footwork will get you out of it, you have to have the courage to stand in the face of it and know beyond all knowing that you were meant for such a time and go for it. Ask yourself, How is this going to make me a success?
   
3. Record - Track - Rehearse
   This is key for future mountains (and they will show up for your success.) When we record what has been, to correct course and track our steps moving forward, it supports us staying on the path according to our plan, and lessens the fear based decision making. Now combine it with rehearsing what will be in the future - create a new picture and attach yourself to it and those giants seem much less intimidating and the mountain more like a hill.
   

We limit ourselves by allowing fear to rule our world rather than shifting the way we look at things to envision what we want and aligning our steps to follow. Vision is necessary, and showing up as we want to be seen is key.

So the next time you feel a conspiracy is mounting...take a proactive approach and shift your mindset to one that supports where you want to go. Remember, you can make change without improvement, but you can't make improvement without change.

Tammy Redmon
Executive Coach and Business Growth Strategist
Redmon & Associates - Empowering Today's Business Leaders

welcome!

The time has finally come that I have stepped into the Blogsphere! An exciting new addition to the family. Moreover, it is an exciting new element, a tool if you will, to spreading a positive message that imparts hope to the hearer, courage to the faint at heart and power to those needing a booster shot.

I believe that we are all given a beautiful gift - it's called life. However, I see everyday that we take extreme care to discredit that gift, to allow others to dictate our future as we try to define our purpose. Why, when we were created for so much more?

We each possess a very powerful gift within us for greatness. This new blog I hope lifts you up when you need a helping hand, encourages you when your'e feeling less than, and opens up your eyes to looking at things in new and different ways. Expect it to challenge the way you see your present situation. When we shift our image, what we get can often be the greatest gift of all - a new perspective!!

Enjoy, be encouraged and be more than what you imagined possible - go for greatness!
Make it a great day!

Tammy Redmon
Coach and Business Growth Strategist
Redmon & Associates - Empowering Today's Business Leaders
email: tammy@redmonandassociates.com
www.redmonandassociates.com