Debra Moorhead . com

In 1897, an Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto observed a pattern in the distribution of wealth among citizens no matter the country or time period concerned.  He found that the distribution was extremely skewed toward one end:  A small minority of earners always accounted for a large majority of the total wealth.  Pareto’s theory was tested, forgotten, revived, proven, and eventually adopted in the United States and Europe during the 1960’s as the “80/20 rule.”

The 80/20 principle has been applied to many disciplines and basically states this:  80 percent of results come from 20 percent of effort.  While the formula is not 100 percent accurate, it is amazingly close and I have read many examples where it was dead on.  In dentistry, I often talk about “Top 20 patients.”  This refers to that 20 percent or so of patients who are responsible for approximately 80 percent of the practice’s revenue for a given year.   Any business can apply this principle to just about any area of that business.  Eighty percent of the work is completed by twenty percent of the workers; eighty percent of your inventory comes from twenty percent of your suppliers; etc.

As an average individual, 80% of your productivity, comes from 20% of your time.  Take a minute to think about that.  The average worker, 80% of us, spends 8 hours per day on the job, but less than two hours of that is productive time!   You’d be surprised at how many small business owners I share that statistic with and get the response, “Tell me something I don’t know!” 

So how can you become one of the 20% of individuals who accounts for 80% of all success?  Identify what you do best, what makes you the most productive, and what provides the greatest value to you and/or your organization.  What are those tasks?  Now identify the tasks you do that could be performed, probably even better, by someone else.  Are there some things that could be eliminated completely?

I find that a lot of companies have employees doing things just because “we’ve always done it that way.”  We maintain the status quo when we could be setting records because our people are spinning their wheels in low-productive, time-consuming, practically worthless tasks.  When we allow people to focus on their top 20 contributions, their creativity is spurred and we start innovating in our industry.  A company is only as strong as it’s people.  This is true whether you are a small business owner working alone, or a Fortune 500 company.

I’ll be teaching this principle and my favorite other time management techniques in Cynthiana, Kentucky on Thursday, May 22, 2008.  It’s a “Lunch ‘n Learn” session through Maysville Community and Technical College.  Contact and registration: 

In the meantime, here are a couple of tools to help you get on the path to maximum personal productivity:

Wake Up and Create the Life You Want:  A Guide to Self-Empowerment

Eliminate Clutter and Organize Your Life E-book

Until next time,

Live joyfully!

You can subscribe to this blog here.

Technorati Tags: Time Management, Coach, Success, Motivational Speaker, Retreat Leader, Motivation, Law of Attraction

Whew – what a weekend!  I’ll give you an update in a few minutes, but first, I’m taking care of business.  (That’s on old one, huh?)

This Saturday, May 10, 2008, I will be hosting the Carnival of Healing.  If you’ve written a post or an article about holistic health, wellness, spirituality, or self empowerment, and you’re willing to share it, please use the Carnival Submission Form and I’ll check it out.  I include everything that’s positive and helpful.  The current carnival, Facing Adversity with Strength, is at A-Ha! – Daily Blog for A-Ha! TV.com; check it out for some great articles – you’ll be glad you did!

As for my weekend experience at SOBCon08, what can I say except that it was a fantastic weekend!  I could inundate you with links to people I met and now absolutely love, but I’ve decided to introduce you to them in more palatable spurts instead. 

The highlight for me was getting to finally meet Scot Herrick in person.  Isn’t it wonderful when you meet someone you’ve been corresponding with for a while and discover that they are exactly as you imagined them?  Sincere, honest, and walking his talk – that’s Scot.  If you work in a “cube,” (and if you’re not sure, you don’t), check out Scot’s Cube Rules.

I met lots of new people, too.  My table partner was a gentleman by the name of Derek Semmler.  Derek is a sweet, devoted family man, who has a sincere desire to help others:    From helping people get out of debt and achieve financial freedom, to parenting solutions for dads, to helping people make money with their blog, links to all of  Derek’s websites can be found at RedStapleMedia.com. 

Okay, I don’t want to sound like a sales pitch, but trust me, these people are worth your time. 

As for what I personally learned:  Enough to start making serious changes to this site, changes you’re going to love!  So stay tuned . . .   (Over 650 of you are regularly tuning in every day – thank you – I deeply appreciate you!)

Join me at my Personal Development Retreat on May 30.

Get control of your stuff and your life with:

Wake Up and Create the Life You Want:  A Guide to Self-Empowerment

Eliminate Clutter and Organize Your Life E-book

Until next time,

Live joyfully!

Technorati Tags: SOBCon08, Peace, Happiness, Attitude, Conscious Creation, Retreat, Coach, Success, Motivational Speaker, Retreat Leader, Motivation, Law of Attraction

This weekend I am attending SOBCon08.  It is an annual conference, held in Chicago, for Successful and Outstanding Bloggers.  (Shame on you for what you were thinking SOB stood for!) 

I’ve mentioned to many of you, on- and offline, that I am getting ready to make some major changes to this website.  I’ve deliberately put off many of my ideas until after this conference in order to avoid unnecessary work.  (I am so excited though:  New colors, enhanced design features, a subscription service that works, and much more are on the way!)

If you’d like to see who else will be attending the conference, Todd Jordan has posted a list on his site.

Michelle Vandepas will be interviewing me (among others) via live remote.  Please check out her site and call in with a question or two. 

Liz Strauss started the whole thing and I can hardly wait to meet her.

Christine Kane is performing, so you know it’s a smart group if they’ve chosen her as their preferred entertainment!  It will be good to see Christine again.  She’s been such a good friend and supporter over the past couple of years.  (By the way – I just read a fantastic post of Christine’s:  Creating vs. Getting – check it out, you’ll be glad you did!)

I’m looking forward to creating new relationships and learning more about the business of blogging.  I originally signed up for the conference with a desire to improve my skills, enhance my knowledge, and offer you a better website.  Recently, I was approached by a small business owner to start a blog for his business.  I’ve also been trying to get my husband to blog about dentistry for over a year now.  (The blog page is set up, we just don’t take the time to write.)  I’m hoping to learn efficient ways to set up and maintain blog sites for small businesses, so that they can have an open channel for communication with their clients. 

That’s not too much to ask, is it?

So, what are you doing this weekend?

You can subscribe to this blog here.

Technorati Tags: SOBCon08, Liz Strauss, Christine Kane, Michelle Vandepas, Todd Jordan, WebDMD.info

The two most common concerns I get from friends, people who read my blog, and seminar participants is that they don’t know what they want, and/or they don’t know what they want to do – as in a career, job, or even just volunteer work.  I have a lot of friends right now who are facing retirement at what is now considered an early age – around 55 – and they want to start a second career, but don’t necessarily want to work as hard as they have for the past 25-30 years.  I can understand that.  So today’s post will focus on determining what you want to do.

Here’s a visualization exercise to get you started.

Imagine that you live in a society where everything you want is given to you.  All of your needs are met; food, clothing, shelter, a new BMW every couple of years . . .

I’m not talking about just enough to get by – everything you want is freely given to you.  When you want something, anything at all, all you have to do is call your “case worker,” (for lack of a better description right now), and tell him what you want, and it is delivered to you in fairly short order.  Obviously, bigger things take a little longer.

Sit for a few minutes and create this world for yourself.  What would you ask for?  A new house?  A new car?  A new wardrobe?  What would it take to just make you completely thrilled with your life experience? 

Create as many details as come to your mind, and certainly write it out if you feel inspired to do so.  Have fun with it, realizing that it’s your imagination and you can create anything you want there.

—

Got it?  Wasn’t that fun?  Okay, on to part two.

In order to participate in this society, you have to contribute - give something back.  You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do within reason; you’re simply expected to use your passions, talents, experiences, and education to do the same for others as they have done for you. 

You see the people who came and built your new house love building houses.  There was probably a team of people wasn’t there?  The builder loves putting the project together, seeing the frame go up, and coordinating all the sub-contractors.  The plumber loves the challenging aspects of her job, but also values the “easy” tasks as well because they give her a break.  In fact, she’s so good at plumbing, it really doesn’t seem like work.  The decorator had a wonderful time working with your specific tastes and ideas to create your magical world that you love coming home to.  In fact, in this society, every person who does anything, (and everyone does something), loves doing what they do so much that they could do it all day, every day.  (Taking necessary breaks, of course!)

Now it’s your turn to do something for all these people.  And I’m not talking about baking them a batch of cookies.  Keep in mind that you don’t owe these people money; remember, everything is freely given to you.  What you do owe these people is your talent.

What would you want to do?  What kind of career would you choose?  You want to do something fun with your life, right?  What would that be?  Would you design gardens for people’s homes, or perhaps their businesses?  Would you help them with their finances?  Would you help them get organized?  Maybe you enjoy designing and building cars. 

What would you do for your contribution?

What do you truly enjoy doing?  Perhaps your gift is motivational writing.  So you would write a book to give the world that would help everyone feel better and understand this wonderful society they live in. 

I could go on and on here with career after career, but I think you see my point.  I remember reading a blog entry a couple of years ago about who would do all the “grunt work” if everyone became aware of their purpose in life.  I took issue with the article because I believe that there are people in corporate America who’d be happier, more fulfilled, and netting just as much money if they started their own cleaning service. 

We take the wrong attitude when we consider anything to be “grunt work.”  Anything is grunting if you’re not enjoying it.  So don’t be afraid to give serious consideration to anything you truly enjoy doing. 

Obviously, we don’t live in a society like I described above.  Money is our means of exchange.  But don’t allow that to discourage you from pursuing your passion.  Instead of thinking about a dollar amount, think about a lifestyle choice.  How much do you need to net in order to live the way you want?  Once you have that figured out, now consider how big your contribution will have to be.  The more you want to take from society, the more you’ll need to give back.  That’s not necessarily a bad thing.  Think about it.  Take in a big way, give back in a big way.  Give in a big way, receive in a big way.  It really does work that way, but some people complain too much to see it.

It’s not about the number of hours you work, either.  When I talk about giving back in a big way, it might mean with attitude, or grander gestures, or more education.  Think about what it would take from you, giving to the universe, in order to take out what you’d like to have.  What can you give that would equal what you want to take?

Write down every idea that comes to your mind and start pursuing each one.  For many people, when you’ve worked in an office setting being paid by the hour for nearly all your adult life, it can be difficult to think outside that box and consider doing something creative, or to even realize that it’s okay to get paid a lot of money for doing something you truly enjoy.  This is a process.  It could take awhile.  The key is to enjoy the journey. 

Explore all your hopes and dreams because each one is a possibility in the making.  Eventually, you will figure out what it is you want to do. 

I’ll be teaching other methods I’ve learned in my Conscious Creation Retreat; I hope to see you there!

In the meantime, here are a couple of tools to help you get on the path to determining what you want to do in life:

Wake Up and Create the Life You Want:  A Guide to Self-Empowerment

Eliminate Clutter and Organize Your Life E-book

Until next time,

Live joyfully!

You can subscribe to this blog here.

Technorati Tags: Peace, Happiness, Attitude, Conscious Creation, Retreat, Coach, Success, Motivational Speaker, Retreat Leader, Motivation, Law of Attraction

One of my pet peeves is when I hear the phrase, “He started with nothing and made something of himself.” 

While I love to celebrate the success of others, that statement could not be further from the truth.  No one starts with nothing, and everyone makes something of themselves. 

Think about it.  We all start with life.  Without life there would be nothing to make in the first place.

We all start with a brain.  I’ve never heard of a body being born without a brain, but I doubt it would live long enough to “make something of” itself.

Beyond that, we start to have our differences, but what exactly quantifies “nothing?” 

Really, what does that phrase mean:  “He started with nothing?”  Does it mean he had poor parents?  Lived in a bad neighborhood?  Had no education?  Indulged a bad attitude?  No friends?  No political connections? 

And what does it mean to “make something” of yourself?  What exactly quantifies “something?”  Money?  Spirituality?  Status?  Education?  Good or bad, you’re creating yourself right now, through your thoughts, words, and actions.

Wherever you end up in life, you always start right where you are.  (Which is always something.)

“I think, therefore I am,” said Rene Descartes. 

If you can think, you have everything. 

Now, go make something good of yourself.

Until next time,

Live joyfully!

I’ll be teaching the methods I’ve learned about recreating your life in my Conscious Creation Retreat; I hope to see you there!

In the meantime, here are a couple of tools to help you get on the path to “making something of” yourself:

Wake Up and Create the Life You Want:  A Guide to Self-Empowerment

Eliminate Clutter and Organize Your Life E-book

You can subscribe to this blog here.

Technorati Tags: Peace, Happiness, Attitude, Conscious Creation, Retreat, Coach, Success, Motivational Speaker, Retreat Leader, Motivation, Law of Attraction

As a Life Skills Coach, one of the biggest problems I see with my clients is their self-image or lack of self-esteem.  The problem is more prevalent with women than with men for reasons that I will not get into in this article – most of us know what those reasons are anyway – but it does affect all income and professional levels.

Your self-esteem determines your energy level and the vitality of your personality. It is the control valve on your performance and determines your success in life.

How you react, both consciously and sub-consciously, to everything that happens to you and around you affects your self-esteem in some way.  Your perception of everything that happens around you either increases your self-esteem or lowers it.  Your response to every word or gesture of other people toward you affects your self-esteem in some way.  Therefore, the development of your self-esteem becomes the key to high performance, happiness, and ultimate success.

While many things affect your self-image, one of the most important is the difference between your current self-image, the way you see yourself in the moment, and your ideal self, the way you would ideally like to be.

Whenever you feel your current performance and behavior is consistent with the person that you would like to be, your self-esteem goes up.  You feel happier and more exhilarated.  You have more energy and enthusiasm.  You are more positive and personable with others.  You’re in a good mood.

On the other hand, when your current performance or behavior is inconsistent with the person you would like to be, your self-esteem goes down.  You feel anxious and unhappy.  You feel self-conscious and embarrassed.  You feel frustrated and angry.  You feel depressed and in a bad mood.

So how do you increase your self-esteem and create a self-image that will propel you forward instead of holding you back?  Here are four basic life skills that will help you get on track.

1. Develop a clear picture of the person you want to become.  The greater clarity you have with regard to your ideal self – the person you would most like to be – the easier it is for you to tailor your performance and behavior to be consistent with that kind of person.  Sometimes it is helpful to read about someone whose personality you admire, and try to adapt his or her behaviors.  For example, Shelly Branch and Sue Callaway have written a great book titled, “What Would Jackie Do?”  This book details some of the characteristics of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis.  Men will tend to like anything by or about Winston Churchill, like “Never Give In.”

2. Visualize yourself behaving in the manner you desire.  (I’ve written about this before in Use Personas for Greater Success.)  We all have some recurring situation that gets the best of us.  We never know how to react until it’s too late and the opportunity has passed.  However, people with a well-developed self-image rarely have this problem.  They have practiced, (I’m not kidding,) saying or doing that which they desire until the opportunity presented itself to behave in a certain way.  It’s just like an actor preparing his or her lines until the night comes to perform.  Every time you do or say anything that is consistent with the person you want to be, your self-esteem goes up.  When your self-esteem goes up, your self-image begins to change.  You feel positive and powerful.  You feel capable of doing more and better things in that area and in other areas of your life.  You become the person you want to be because you are your self-image!

3. Realize that responding to a situation doesn’t always mean you have to say something.  Remember that how you react, both consciously and sub-consciously, to everything that happens to you and around you affects your self-esteem in some way.  Sometimes, it’s best to just let the other person say what they want, and then silently say to yourself, “That’s not true.  I’m a very smart person.  I’m organized and thorough.  This was just a minor mishap that will never happen again.”  As long as your inner mind can influence your self-image, there is really no need to start confronting every issue.  Choose your battles.  Doing so will give you an amazing sense of control.

4. Engage in positive self-talk.  Start saying nice things to yourself.  In his book, “Million Dollar Habits,” Brian Tracy says one of the ways he increased his self-esteem years ago was by repeating to himself 10 to 50 times a day, “I like myself!”  The powerful message behind this phrase is that even when you mess up, and we all do, you can still like yourself.  Or at least you should, because that what self-esteem is – liking yourself no matter what.

We will talk more about how to increase your self-esteem at my Life Skills Retreat; I hope to see you there!

In the meantime, here are a couple of tools to help you get on the path to empowerment, peace and happiness:

Wake Up and Create the Life You Want:  A Guide to Self-Empowerment

Eliminate Clutter and Organize Your Life E-book

Until next time,

Live joyfully!

You can subscribe to this blog here.

Technorati Tags: Self-Esteem, Empowerment, Life Skills, Peace, Happiness, Attitude, Conscious Creation, Retreat, Coach, Success, Motivational Speaker, Retreat Leader, Motivation, Law of Attraction

I love motivational quotes.  So much so, that I am in the process of instigating a “Quote of the Day” service on this website.  

Why do I love quotes so much?  Perhaps because they’re inspired, but also because I love the elegance quotes possess.  A few words that come together in such a way that they motivate, educate, or inspire us to think more effectively, feel more deeply, or act more swiftly.  What could be more elegant than that?

Today, I’d thought I’d share with you my favorite 10 quotes.

1. “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”

–Ralph Waldo Emerson

2. “Don’t wait for extraordinary opportunities.  Seize common occasions and make them great.”

–Orison Swett Marden

3. “Without leaps of imagination, or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities.  Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning.”

–Gloria Steinem

4. “Cherish your visions and your dreams, as they are the children of your soul, the blueprints of your ultimate achievements.” 

–Napoleon Hill

5. “How you act is who you become.”

–Steve Chandler

6. “I will build my castle one brick at a time, for I know that small attempts, repeated, will complete any undertaking.”

–Og Mandino

7. “One of the virtues of being very young is that you don’t let the facts get in the way of your imagination.”

–Sam Levenson

8. “One’s philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the choices one makes. In the long run, we shape our lives and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility.”

–Eleanor Roosevelt

9. “It’s better to look ahead and prepare than to look back and regret.”

–Jackie Joyner-Kersee

10. “High expectations are the key to everything.”

–Sam Walton

We will discuss these quotes at my Life Skills Retreat; I hope to see you there!

In the meantime, here are a couple of tools to help you get on the path to empowerment, peace and happiness:

Wake Up and Create the Life You Want:  A Guide to Self-Empowerment

Eliminate Clutter and Organize Your Life E-book

Until next time,

Live joyfully!

You can subscribe to this blog here.

Technorati Tags: Quotes, Empowerment, Life Skills, Peace, Happiness, Attitude, Conscious Creation, Retreat, Coach, Success, Motivational Speaker, Retreat Leader, Motivation, Law of Attraction

Laughter and the ability to remain light-hearted have been proven in many studies to be more successful at maintaining a healthy heart than mere diet and exercise.  Why?  Perhaps because maintaining a sense of humor frees us from stress and anxiety.  After all, you can’t be anxious about something and laughing at yourself at the same time. 

Here, then, are 5 ways to develop a more light-hearted attitude toward life.

1. Smile.  The physical act of smiling releases endorphins into your body and instantly improves your mood, making it easier to laugh at whatever situation has come along.  Try it.  If you don’t believe me, try this; Smile as big and wide as you can, and try to maintain a negative thought.  I’ll bet you can’t do it!  Go ahead; laugh at how simple this is!

2. Laugh at yourself.  We’re all human.  And so are you!  (Some people need to be reminded of that.)  Taking yourself too seriously puts undue pressure on your subconscious mind and keeps you further from whatever it is you’re trying to accomplish.  I’m guilty of this at times and I suppose everyone is.  Your most important relationship is the one you have with you.  Learn to forgive yourself and laugh at your mistakes, even the clumsiest of them.

3. Practice this mantra:  “This too shall pass.”