May 2021 « Confidence Coach

A Hill to Climb

When there is a hill to climb, don’t think waiting will make it smaller.

What I’m talking about here is the fact that we all have hills to climb. We all have challenges and obstacles, hard things, difficult choices and work that we have to do.

But what I want you to know is that there is nothing to be benefited by waiting. Other than to make the hill seem bigger or the challenge harder.

You need to build on your bravery! When it comes to those hills, what I want you to do is to put on your bravery, put on your best courage and commitment. Challenge that hill and attack it immediately. Do not put it off.

Today really is about the hills in your life and the bravery and the muscle that you’re gaining by heading straight for the hill.

Remember: when there’s a hill to climb, don’t think waiting will make it smaller. Take it on. You’ve got this!

by Scott Ballard , May 30, 2021

The Gratitude Game

The gratitude game is a way to continually be thankful, grateful and appreciate all that you are experiencing and that is going on in your life.

I’d like to encourage you to be experiencing gratitude in all areas of your life, whether that’s in your personal life, business life, family life, friends, or with your faith. You can even go back to your childhood, think about your adult life or the many other areas of your life, but that’s what we’re talking about here today,

My wife and I often practice the gratitude game on a long drive or a long flight (now that we are flying and traveling again). We also use it when we end the day or maybe when we are heading home from a workshop or coaching session. It helps us to gain a better perspective on all the amazing things that we’re thankful and grateful for. We note all the things that we can appreciate during a day, during a workshop, during a coaching session, with our family, with our children, with our friends, whether we are traveling or at home.

It’s a great way to end a trip or event too. Instead of saying “Oh, my gosh, we’ve got to go home now” or “I’m so sad this is over.” Turn that around and focus on the positive. Talk about the things that went right and celebrate the positive experiences that happened during that time, day or season.

This is what we call the gratitude game and we play it spontaneously all the time!

We encourage you and challenge you to do the same. Play the gratitude game and see how it changes your perspective, your feelings, your emotions, your energy and your life.

At Confidence Coach we offer business owners a place to reconnect and rebuild their confidence; which leads to their better future in the days and years ahead. Reach out today and schedule a free call if you’d like to talk. What are you grateful for today?

by Scott Ballard , May 23, 2021

13 Traits of a Humble Leader

Are you struggling with how to lead during these difficult times?

Does it feel like your ability to lead and move forward in your business is stuck?

Do you want to get unstuck from your leadership trap today?

Below is the way forward to lead in this difficult time (or any time for that matter) and it’s called the Humble Leader.

Here are 13 traits of a humble leader:

1. You’re influenceable. You’re open to other people’s ideas, thinking and ways of doing things.
2. You can be corrected without defending yourself. When was the last time you were corrected?
3. You’re happy for others when they succeed. The test is especially true when it’s something that you’ve also wanted to succeed at.
4. There’s no job too small for you to do. When was the last time you did a small job in your business?
5. You don’t always have to be right about everything.
6. You naturally seek advice from others. Do you seek input in your leadership model?
7. You’re teachable. You never stop learning and you know that learning is the roadway to better leadership and a better tomorrow.
8. You freely admit your flaws, your mistakes, and your failures on a regular basis and you have the ability to laugh at yourself.
9. You live to see others succeed. This is your intentional and internal motivation in everything you do.
10. You’re not easily offended by people, situations or words.
11. You’re thankful, grateful and appreciative, and you have a grateful attitude for your team, your customers, your vendors, and for life.
12. You don’t live with a sense of entitlement that somebody or something or someone owes you something because you’re the leader.
13. You’re content with who you are and you’re content with who you are not, or in other words, you’re good in your own skin.

How do you rate on these traits as a humble leader? If you want help to get unstuck as a leader and move forward, reach out and schedule a free consultation today. Let’s talk about it.

by Scott Ballard , May 12, 2021

What Being Vulnerable is Teaching Me about Leading People

Today I just want to present an insight about being vulnerable that I’ve been experiencing with coaching and leadership recently. In the past, I’ve tried to hide my challenges or mistakes, my being dyslexic and all that comes with that. But in the last year or so, I’ve been being vulnerable and shared my life story. I’ve discovered that sharing about my dyslexia, my failures, my need to learn, my not knowing all the answers, my listening to other people, and being transparent about my history has helped me to lead people to discover their own strengths and breakthroughs.

I’ve been on quite a few podcasts in the last few months, done some Facebook Lives, been interviewed and also been on a bunch of webinars. Being transparent, I’ve shared that I’m dyslexic and was told that I was stupid and would never be anything by my first grade teacher. I dealt with depression and thoughts of suicide as a young 7-8-9 year old kid. But I realized there was hope and a light around this situation. I had people that believed in me and found that God cared about me. That my life mattered and that there was a plan for me. I’ve just been really vulnerable and really pushing the envelope about my life.

As most of you know, I work with business owners and I always felt like I couldn’t go too far in sharing my past because it might be too much for them to handle. But as I’ve started to tell the whole story, the response has been amazing and phenomenal. Much to my pleasant surprise, people are buying my book “The Biggest Disability is a Bad Attitude” and booking me to speak to their groups.

Something I’m learning is that people, companies, business leaders, and employees are desperate for authentic transparency. They want real people, not Photoshop or social media that says everything is great all the time.

There’s such a hunger for the reality of someone’s life and to have a person open up enough to admit where they’ve gone wrong, say what really happened and even share the consequences. For example — here’s what happened when we lost a lawsuit; here’s what happened when we did this or that.

I’ve realized the power of being vulnerable in sharing these things. A coach and leader who is real and vulnerable gives people hope. It also helps people in return be vulnerable and open with me so I can help them in an even deeper way; it creates for them insights, breakthroughs, transformation and miracles. But this all starts with me setting the example.

I’m challenging you as a leader to be vulnerable. Be honest with people. Share the experiences you have had – the good, the bad, the ugly, the in-between, the successes, and the failures.

The more you do this, the more people will gravitate to you and want to follow you. People will want to listen, learn and then follow whatever the vision or mission you have for your business or your company.

But I challenge you to put on vulnerability and transparency of who you really are – show up as yourself.