Quality of Life depends on....

Who you spend time with impacts on your quality of life! Examine the scope and influences that impact your life. This includes who you listen to, who you learn from, the books you read and TV programs you watch.
Your future will be the same as your past unless you examine your quality of life. By this I’m not referring to the place you live, car you drive the chattels you’ve gathered or the stocks and shares you have accumulated.
To examine your quality of life, listen to your body.
Is your thinking excessive?
Does your body carry anxiety?
Do you have harmony in your heart?
*There are times when we feel little flutters in our tummy. These little flutters are usually short term and relate to good stress, eustress, the definition of stress given by endocrinologist Dr Hans Seyle, for the stress evoked by any positive emotion or event.

Good stress refers to healthy and/or fulfilling arousal! The thought or sound of that ‘special someone’, preparing for a long awaited special event, watching your favourite sports team...
If your past has not been as harmonious as you desired, honestly examine the capacities and influences that impacted your life and of the energies that are still influencing your life choices.
I have mentors some of which are no longer living but their influence still has a positive radiating effect on my life. On the other hand, there are those whose lives and life choices impacted our lives negatively and it is to these we need to address decisions if our future is to be different to our past.
Consciously and unconsciously negative influences are contributing factors to distress. Distress is not healthy, the list of diseases related to stress is long and scientific research adds on a regular basis more mental and physical diseases to this list. Examples of stress related diseases are depression, diabetes, obesity, heart disease, sexual dysfunction…sadly the list is large.
Whether distress be covert or overt it has the power, silent or otherwise, to put people into a depressed, ineffective mode. Unless ‘nipped in the bud’ this behaviour can have a crippling effect on the once healthy body.
Distress often stays in an alert state much longer and for this reason researchers refer to this state as the fight or flight response. Unaddressed becomes the foundation for disease.
If while reading you have identified contributing factors to distress, what are you willing to change? Some may say, there is nothing I can do. This dear reader is another subject for another time – it is called ‘helplessness’.
“Change brings opportunity.” Nido Quebein.
It takes courage to change but change brings new opportunity, better health and brighter tomorrows. So whatever it is that you have been promising yourself to do, make a decision and do it now!


Leslie Choudhury - Int'l Speaker, Trainer, Consultant and Author   
 周来利
LCI - logo2      
CEO – Leslie Choudhury International
Director – Directive Communication International
Associate Director – ADMC Pte Ltd
65 96347354

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Seven Steps to Corporate Sccess



1. Don’t start only with customer-facing teams. Starting your service transformation with customer-facing team members might seem like the obvious move. But if your objective is to build an uplifting service culture, this approach can be very problematic. Because your people in “customer-facing” roles interact with customers daily, they already understand that service is important. They know that upset customers complain. They know happy customers are easier to serve. What they don’t know is how to fix the behind-the-scenes issues that often affect the customers’ perceptions.
When you provide new service education, greater encouragement, and more recognition for customer-facing teams like sales, installation, repair, or customer service, they will be inspired to serve better, smile wider, and strive even harder to delight. But at some point, they will start to wonder how they can give customers better service if their colleagues do not give them better service.
When launching an uplifting service program, it would be much better to include or begin with internal service providers: production and design, hardware and software, warehousing and logistics, facilities, finance, legal, IT, and HR. When these internal service providers make things easier, faster, more responsive, or more flexible for your customer-facing employees, they’ll be surprised, delighted, and better able to serve your external customers. Let those on the inside inspire those who are serving on the outside with better service first. It’s a proven win-win situation.
2. Launch at all levels. Starting from the top with an uplifting service initiative makes sense. When high-level leaders speak up and role model with commitment, it’s easier for everyone else to follow—and take the lead at their own levels. However, a top-down approach on its own can leave your leaders in an uncomfortable position. When those at the top make the earliest efforts, they must wait for the cascade to see practical results. But a cascade does not happen overnight—and this lack of quick and observable impact can cause some leaders to get impatient and question whether the outcomes will happen at all.
At the same time, though, you must beware of launching from the bottom up without support from the top—the classic mistake of stand-alone “frontline service training programs.” It won’t take long before a motivated frontline service provider bumps into a supervisor or manager who does not share the understanding or the passion.
That’s what happened at a leading tour operator when it brought its frontline employees a novel campaign called “Be Service Entrepreneurs.” The objective was for staff members to make decisions as if they were the owners. One enthusiastic frontline service provider did just that. He chartered a plane to move customers along when the company’s tour bus broke down. It was a gutsy move his customers loved, but most of the company’s leaders had never heard of this frontline program and were not pleased with this result. The program was quickly retired as word spread throughout the company that “Be Service Entrepreneurs” was no longer supported.
3. Don’t forget the middle. Companies often decide to launch from the top down and from the bottom up at the same time. But doing so puts a great deal of responsibility on the people in the middle. In the top-down cascade, middle managers and supervisors must translate the messages in action, connect company objectives to frontline concerns, and make uplifting language appear practical and useful. In the bottom-up bubbling of new ideas and action steps, the middle plays three culture-building roles: praising team members who do a great job, raising good suggestions for higher-level review, and spotlighting roadblocks that require leadership action for removal.
In both instances, you’re asking a lot of your managers and supervisors.
But starting in the middle won’t work either. When leaders are not prepared to lead, and frontline employees are not prepared for action, then asking middle managers to start the journey alone is a formula for pure frustration. A top-down cascade brings commitment, alignment, and support. A bottom-up program stimulates new ideas and new actions. An activated middle connects, enables, and empowers. It’s best to prepare well and start with attention to all three.
4. Arm your leaders with helpful service hints. Most people who reach high leadership positions are experts in their industry. But rarely are they experts in building or leading a service culture. That means if you are one of the passionate and committed service heroes inside your organization, you may need to help your leaders lead. That means creating opportunities for them to walk the walk, talk the talk, and model uplifting service.
Invite your leaders to participate with you in customer meetings and focus groups. Ask them to help you recognize the company’s top-notch service providers with a visit, a handshake, a photograph, and a short speech. Keep them informed about the uplifting service transformation’s progress by providing short descriptions of service problems that have been recently solved, noting who worked on the problem, what they did to solve it, and how service was improved.
5. Go for easy wins first. The principles of uplifting service are so empowering and the practices so effective that some leaders push their teams to solve the most difficult and complex service problems right away. That’s a mistake to avoid. Warming up a machine before you go full throttle is good practice. Warming up your service team with a series of “early wins” is good practice, too.
When planning a sequence of service problems to tackle, take a gradual approach. Build momentum with early wins on easy issues. Let your team taste the pleasure of uplifting service success. Highlight achievements and celebrate the compliments you earn. Restrain the urge to work on your toughest problems first—their day to be conquered will come.
6. Stay vigilant. Keep your aim on the right bull’s-eye. I write about a client who launched a vigorous service improvement program to create greater value for external customers. Hundreds of classes were conducted for thousands of service champions around the world. But something unusual happened as the program rolled out. Rather than focus on identified external business targets—reclaiming market share, rebuilding a slipping reputation, bouncing back in recovery situations, etc.—earning high internal course evaluations became the course leaders’ primary focus.
Scoring 9 out of 10 for leading a wonderful class became a cause for celebration. That’s a great score, but a very different bull’s-eye. Eventually this lack of alignment with the program’s original goals became painfully apparent. The focus had drifted away from the early goals, and the entire program needed to refocus. Don’t let this drifting happen to you. A clear bull’s-eye that delivers value to others should always be at the center of your efforts, well articulated and understood by everyone involved.
7. Watch out for stuck-in-the-mud team members. Some hard-nosed managers will challenge a new program by sending their most cynical and problematic employees. Their view is, “If a new program can work on these tough nuts, then perhaps it has some merit.” But the opposite approach will work much better. What you want in the early days of your journey is good feelings, good results, and good gossip. That comes more easily from participants who want to participate and are eager to succeed.
There is an old saying that “A rising tide lifts all boats.” This is also true when building an uplifting service culture—except for those who are stuck in the mud. Practicing generous action raises everyone to a higher level—except those who will not budge. For deeply cynical, resentful, or unwilling employees, there are two successful options. First, they may come to see the light and climb on board for an unfamiliar but uplifting ride. And second, they may feel so out of place as everyone else moves ahead, they no longer feel welcome, and leave. For the success of your organization, either outcome is welcome.

When transforming an existing service culture, you have to get everyone involved in new, swift action to make the change really happen. What you need is a service revolution, not gradual evolution. A timid program with small starts and scattered efforts won’t work. You need a bold and uplifting revolution that gives everyone a role to play, and counts on everyone to make the future—a better future—into a service reality today.
www.lesliechoudhury.com     &   www.l-c-international.com

Learning from Steve Jobs

Gleaning from SJ – by Leslie Choudhury

Steve Jobs’ impact on our life cannot be underestimated. His innovations have likely touched nearly every aspect — computers, movies, music and mobile. As a communications coach, I learned from Jobs that a presentation can, indeed, inspire. For many people, leaders, managers, Jobs’ greatest legacy is the set of principles that drove his success. We need to learn from this. What are you creating that is worth sharing?
Over the years, I’ve become a student of many great leaders and of course of Steve Job’s career and life. Here’s my take on the rules and values underpinning his success. Any of us can adopt them to unleash our “inner Steve Jobs.” Question that remains is will we?


1. Do what you love. Jobs once said, “People with passion can change the world for the better.” Asked about the advice he would offer would-be leaders, he said, “I’d get a job as a busboy or something until I figured out what I was really passionate about.” That’s how much it meant to him. Passion is everything. Nothing can or will substitute passion. In dealing with companies and people I have come to realize this is a critical success ingredient. I recently had to advise an old friend, to quit his job because he was not passionate about it and if he could not get passionate then ‘get out’. In the alternate scenario I encouraged a young, vibrant lady to take up a leadership role because she was full of passion and it needed that step for her to realize what she is capable of. When you do what you love, it isn’t a job, it is where you get your natural adrenalin rush from, it is fun, it is like a favourite sport, hobby … and sometimes people have to tell you to stop!

2. Put a dent in the universe. Jobs believed in the power of vision. I once asked the founder and former chairman of Sony Corporation, Akio Morita, “What was his Vision?” His was a simple vision, “To make things smaller and better!” Sony grew from nothing to one of the largest most successful electronic companies in the world. Their success was through ‘innovation’. They have made a dent in the world. How do you want to spend your life? How will you be involved in changing the world?” What is your vision? Don’t lose sight of this vision.

3. Make connections. Jobs once said creativity is connecting things. He meant that people with a broad set of life experiences can often see things that others miss. He took calligraphy classes that didn’t have any practical use in his life — until he built the Macintosh. Jobs travelled to India and Asia. He studied design and hospitality. Don’t live in a bubble. Connect ideas from different fields. Networking is a key to success. I cannot imagine to be where I am today if not for knowing the right people, having been connected with a variety of people and experiences. I have been involved with sports, music, church and para-church organizations, civil service and corporate think-tanks, hospitality, travel, time-share, and education. As Steve Jobs says, you can only connect the dots looking backwards. Today, I can so embrace what life unfolds as I made the connections yesterday that keep paying off tomorrow.

4. Say ‘No’ to many things. Jobs was as proud of what Apple chose not to do as he was of what Apple did. When he returned in Apple in 1997, he took a company with 350 products and reduced them to 10 products in a two-year period. Why? So he could put the “A-Team” on each product. What are you saying “no” to? I have said no to Seychelles, Qatar, Fiji, New Zealand, numerous assignments, appointments, jobs, directorships, etc as they would have not helped me focus on being what I want to be or getting where I want to go. Life is about choices. We must choose to focus. Many people focus on what is urgent and not on what is important. We must focus on what is important, crucial, vision-critical not what is urgent.


5. Create insanely different experiences. Jobs also sought innovation in the customer-service experience. When he first came up with the concept for the Apple Stores, he said they would be different because instead of just moving boxes, the stores would enrich lives. Everything about the experience you have when you walk into an Apple store is intended to enrich your life and to create an emotional connection between you and the Apple brand. What are we doing to enrich the lives of our customers? Are we creating memory banks for our clients? Moments clients will relish, touch them, change them and remain in them forever … we can! I love having an impact on a person long after the face to face encounter. I always think about what I can do different, how I can give people those kind of ‘life changing’ experiences?


6. Master the message. You can have the greatest idea in the world, but if you can’t communicate your ideas, it doesn’t matter. Jobs was the world’s greatest corporate storyteller. Instead of simply delivering a presentation like most people do, he informed, he educated, he inspired and he entertained, all in one presentation. What is the story we tell our customer? What is the story they will tell others? I recently had a series of workshops conducted for DELL computers on ‘Emotional Intelligence’, where every single available seat was taken up and in fact quite overbooked. When asking each person, why they were there in my workshop it was immensely encouraging to hear them say ‘I was told I should not miss this opportunity by so and so’. If our message is right, touching, life-changing, it will be spread!


7. Sell dreams, not products. Jobs captured our imagination because he really understood his customer. He knew that tablets would not capture our imaginations if they were too complicated. The result? One button on the front of an iPad. It’s so simple, a 2-year-old can use it. Our customers don’t care about our products. They care about themselves, their hopes, their ambitions. Jobs taught us that if we help our customers reach their dreams, we’ll win them over.


There’s one story that I think sums up Jobs’ career at Apple. An executive who had the job of reinventing the Disney Store once called up Jobs and asked for advice. His counsel? ‘Dream Bigger’. I think that’s the best advice he could leave us with. See genius in our craziness, believe in ourself, believe in our vision, and be constantly prepared to defend those ideas. I just finished attending a symposium where a lovely lady named Sharon from Australia talked about ‘Selling Goosebumps’ ! We are in the business of selling dreams, creating dreams, making dreams come true ..making memories, creating experiences that bring a warmth to the heart and souls of our customers. I want to be part of this …do you?


See it, be it, live it !!!

www.lesliechoudhury.com

Dealing With Negative People !!!


Have you ever been faced with trying to stay positive when others around you are negative? Negative people can be a challenge to be around. They will bring you down and drain your energy. A negative person can throw your best laid plans to be positive right out the window. Whether your child or spouse has an occasional negative day or you deal with a family member, friend or co-worker that is chronically negative, there are things you can do to remain positive in the face of negativity.

1. Let the Negativity Pass
Whatever you do, do not argue with a negative person. Arguing only adds fuel to the fire. A negative person will feed off any negativity that will strengthen his mood or attitude. I have noticed when my children are in a crabby mood, it is best to avoid trying to convince them to analyze and adjust their attitude. As soon as I take the approach of being in opposition with them, they seize the opportunity to prove to me that life stinks. Their negativity intensifies and the situation gets worse before it gets better. Sometimes the best thing to do is remain silent and let the negativity pass.

2. Negative People Need Love
You know how difficult it can be to give love and positive attention to negative people. Unfortunately, that is often exactly what they need. Deep inside that mean and critical person is a person that is usually afraid he or she is unlovable. It is our challenge to rise above the negative attitude and love the injured person inside. How do you show love when someone is negative? You must listen to what she is trying to tell you. Acknowledge the feelings she has by saying something like, “You sound very angry right now”. Even if you don’t quite understand the person’s feelings, know that your reality is different than someone else’s. Ask how you might help the negative person. This shows legitimate interest in her happiness. Offer a hug even if you get rejected. Remember not to take a rejection of your love personally. A negative person often has difficulty receiving love from others.

3. Focus on the Positive
If you try really hard, there is always something positive to be found in any situation. Pretend you are on a treasure hunt and search for any gold or jewels you can emphasize. Even a negative person has positive qualities. When a person is drowning in negativity, it can be difficult for them to see the positive. So often my clients focus on the negative aspects of themselves. They forget about all the great things they are doing. I admit that sometimes a negative person doesn’t want to see the positive. This might require her to shift her outlook. Negativity can become a habit and habits are hard to break. Be patient and gently remind your grumpy friend or family member to look for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Hopefully, in her down time, she will begin to reflect on what you have said.

4. Ask Negative People to Elaborate
You may hear a negative person say things like: “Women are fickle.” “You can’t trust doctors.” “My husband makes me miserable.” These kinds of statements are a type of cognitive distortion referred to as generalizations. To help a person sort through her distorted thinking, ask for more specifics. Questions like “Which women are fickle?” or “What specifically about your husband is making you miserable?” force a person to evaluate what he or she is really trying to say. A negative person will either give up because it takes too much effort to explain himself, or he or she will get to the bottom of the issue.

5. Detach and Avoid Trying to Change the Negative Person
Learning to detach emotionally from a negative person can greatly benefit you and the other person. A negative person will fight you if you try to change them. If you want, you can try a little reverse psychology and agree with everything she says. I once read a great article about a mother who was exasperated with her son’s negative mood. Everything she tried to soothe him and make him feel better backfired. She finally gave up and started agreeing with everything he said. When her son told her his friends were mean, she agreed with him. When he complained that his teacher didn't know anything, she couldn't agree more. After several minutes of this kind of dialogue with her son, his mood suddenly shifted. He declared that he was tired and he went to bed with a smile on his face.

6. Stay Away from Negative People
If you have negative people in your life that are critically affecting your mental and physical health, you need to evaluate whether or not you want these people in your life. Some people are so chronically negative that you have no other choice but to remove them from your life. It’s possible to do that with friends. You can find another job if your boss or other co-workers are bringing you down. Other people, such as children and spouses, are difficult to remove from your life. In this instance, professional counseling may be the answer. To protect your well being, you need to enforce very strong boundaries with negative people.

7. Keep Your Own Negative Thoughts and Behaviors in Check
If you do nothing else but focus on managing your own negative thoughts and behavior, you will come a long way towards remaining positive. A negative attitude is contagious, but a positive attitude is infectious as well. Hang out with positive people that encourage you to be your best self. Use positive affirmations to overcome negative self-talk. Express your gratitude for all the positive things in your life. Take the time everyday to watch all the beautiful things going on around you. Read inspirational material and listen to joyful music. Take care of yourself spiritually. Do whatever you have to do to remain positive and happy despite the negativity you face.

The world will be a better place because of you and your attitude. And you never know, you just might help a negative person make a change to a better way of living.

Leslie Choudhury – Int’l Speaker, Trainer, Consultant and Author
Serious fun for serious business

      
 See  it,  be  it,  live  it !!!

www.dreamz-image.com
www.directivecommunication.com
www.lesliechoudhury.com
www.impactfulpresentations.com
http://twitter.com/LeslieChoudhury


CEO – Dreamz Image International
Director – Directive Communication International
Associate Director – ADMC Pte Ltd
65 96347354
http://lesliechoudhury.com/blog
http://www.communicationgurus.net/Next_Speaker_communicaton.php
http://www.lesliechoudhury.com/what-people-say.html

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