portland business coaching Archives

The 3 G’s of Happiness

I think that you would agree that we all want more happiness in our lives; less complications, less problems, less stress and MORE happiness. This is something I have shared with my clients when they come to me and want more happiness. It’s called the 3 G’s. I’ll break it down for you.

Gratitude. On a daily basis, find a small thing that you’re grateful for. Not some big thing, but something small that you can be grateful for every day.
Generosity. Be generous towards somebody or something in your life. That could be money, that could be time, that could be a note you write to somebody to encourage them. Or maybe it’s something you do for a coworker or for your spouse. It doesn’t have to be big, but you’re giving to somebody without the expectation of a return.
Goodness (or doing good). Is there somewhere or something you can do good around or for? It might involve your child — maybe helping out at your child’s school event. It could be serving at your church. Or maybe doing something for a stranger. It might be giving something away to somebody and doing good in that way. Anyway, get creative and think about something you can do that is good. It could be as simple as saying please and thank you or maybe leaving a really big tip for your waiter at dinner tomorrow night.

Now you have the secret to creating more happiness in your life — the 3 G’s of Gratitude, Generosity and Goodness/Good.

If you practice and do one of these every day, your happiness factor will go up.

We all know about the 3 G’s but unless you actually do them and practice them, you’re not going to get the benefit of Happiness that they bring.

by Scott Ballard , May 1, 2023

A Goal is Not Just About What You Achieve

A goal is not just about what you achieve, it’s about who you become in the process.

Today I just want to say three quick things about the above statement. If you’re like most of our clients, I know you are very goal driven. That is wonderful, but there’s another side to achieving goals and that is it’s not just about the achievement, but about who you’re becoming as you achieve your goal.

Stop for a second and think about your biggest goal. Think about these three questions.

While I’m in the process of reaching my goal, who am I becoming along the way as I’m achieving it?
Is this goal in line with who and where I want to be 5, 10, or 20 years from now? Is it actually creating in me the behaviors, the values, the insight, the things that I want to be 20 years from now?
What conscious choices am I going to make today about my goal that align with who I want to be in the future?

At Confidence Coach, we are here to support and encourage you as you achieve your dreams, goals and aspirations. Feel free to schedule a free consultation.

by Scott Ballard , April 4, 2021

I have to . . .

Most entrepreneurs, business owners, and leaders begin their day with a “to do” list of what they have to get done that day in their life and business. Maybe it’s a list of all the responsibilities that have to be taken care of. Either way, this can be burdensome and a tough way to start the day and gain momentum.

I’d like to suggest you test and experiment with an idea I have around changing the words from “I have to” to “I get to.” Instead of saying “I have to” do accounting today say “I get to” do accounting today. Change from “I have to” make sales calls today and rephrase it to “I get to” make sales calls today. You get the idea!!

Instead of telling yourself “I have to” hire someone today, say “I get to” hire someone today. Change the phraseology of having to do something to you get to do something. Those three little words of “I get to” will change your thinking, change your attitude, and also tremendously change your energy as you proceed throughout the day.

Most people view their “to do” list as an “I have to” list. Instead, call it your “I Get To” list!!

My challenge for you is to change the “I have to’s” that you have on your to do list to “I get to’s” and see what effect it as on your results. I think the volume of work you get done will increase as well as the amount of things you accomplish.

Make the great exchange from “I have to” to “I get to.”

Reach out today and schedule a free call if you’d like to talk more about this and other ways to change and improve your mindset.

by Scott Ballard , March 3, 2021

Is this you?

I have some questions or thoughts for you today that I want you to do a little soul searching and see if any of them sound familiar or maybe you’ve just thought them to yourself in the past. Is this you?

Do you say to yourself, I’m not lonely but I feel very alone being a leader?
If I stopped working so hard would this all just disappear and go away? Would I lose my business?
It’s strange but people admire me but sometimes I feel really lazy.
My big vision that inspires so many people in my company and in the business world doesn’t really inspire me anymore.
I’m so good at solving problems that I don’t even see it or know it. It’s like a blind spot for me, and I just kind of unconsciously solve people’s problems.
I have a lot of success, money, recognition, all the toys but inside I feel strangely unfulfilled.
I feel like I’m in a rut. I feel like I’m bored and like I’ve already done this and there’s not really a challenge anymore. I could do this with my eyes closed.

If you think any of the above thoughts, I totally get it. I hear these things from my clients all the time.

It’s the part of being a leader, of being successful, of being somebody that has “achieved” what the world would define as success. But from working with high level leaders, I know there’s more. There’s so much more and the traditional definition or markers of success are not it. For you there’s something bigger and deeper that you want to do.

So that’s who I work with, and that’s what they do. We go past whatever is deemed success by the world, dig deeper, go further and change the world.

If this resonates with you, reach out to me. Let’s have a 30 minute conversation and see what happens.

by Scott Ballard , December 20, 2020

Who do you want to be a hero to?

In these challenging times, we have all seen a lot of heroes who are first responders, but recognize that you can be a hero too in your own way.

Our media, TV, movies and books are all built around the hero.

Who do you want to be a hero to?

Who are you being a hero to now?

And how can you expand, impact and influence those people and other people’s lives?

Heroes define a story.

Heroes are on a secret mission.

Heroes go the extra mile.

Heroes act when they’re afraid.

Heroes overcome amazing obstacles.

Heroes defeat the enemy.

Heroes are people that on the outside seem normal or average, but on the inside, they have something extraordinary.

Heroes are the people that make a difference and impact in the world.

Who do you want to be a hero to?

Who are you a hero to?

And, how can you be a hero all the time?

At Confidence Coach we are here to offer business owners a place to reconnect and rebuild their confidence and help you be that hero that you really want to be. Reach out today and schedule a free call if you’d like to talk. We are here to help and encourage you.

by Scott Ballard , December 8, 2020

Courage

Why is courage one of the most important values or qualities that you can have in your life and in your business?

“Sometimes all you need is 20 seconds of insane courage. Just 20 seconds of embarrassing bravery and I promise you something great will come of it.” From Benjamin Mee’s book, We Bought a Zoo.

Sometimes you don’t even need 20 seconds of bravery — just one act.

What if you asked your team at the weekly or monthly meeting what they did that took courage in the last week or month and made this a question you asked them on a regular basis?

What if you asked yourself this question at the end of every workday for the next 30 days?

There’s one thing that I guarantee would happen. Your world would be transformed.

What’s one small act of courage you could take today?

Share it with us!

At Confidence Coach we are here to 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. We are here to help and encourage you.

by Scott Ballard , November 16, 2020

The Way Forward

In helping people find their best way forward, I have been asking them these questions to really get them to think and process where they are at during this time. Here are those questions for you to ponder and think about too.

What if everything that has been happening in the last six months was to teach us and make us stronger?

What if it was to make you and me focus on what’s truly important?

How do I switch from seeing these things with my own eyes to seeing it with the eyes of my customers?

All the challenges that we have gone through lately are going to make us better leaders and help create a clearer vision for our business and our team.

The questions again in a little more detail are:

What if this is happening for us?
What does this make possible?
What if this is actually meant to strengthen us as a company and you as a person?
When was the last time you identified your why? Why are you here? Why are you doing this work?
When was the last time you let your “why” dictate the way forward as you did your work?

We know this — when you’ve lost your way, go back and deeply connect with your big why. Then, watch everything make sense again and get clarity.

If you’d like help in figuring out your “why” again and the best way forward, reach out to us and schedule a free consultation. At Confidence Coach we are here to offer business owners a place to connect, build their confidence and a better future.

by Scott Ballard , October 18, 2020

Leaders Lead With These Questions for Their Teams

As a leader, here are some questions you should be asking your team members on a regular (or even daily) basis to lead them in the right direction. These questions will promote a positive focus that your team needs from you during these difficult times. When you lead with enthusiasm and a positive attitude, it helps propel everyone forward in that direction too. You set the tone.

What’s going right?
What’s working?
What can we build on?
What’s possible now?
What is the seed of opportunity in this difficult time?
What are your wins today?
What have you learned today that you can apply tomorrow?

At Confidence Coach, we focus on the positive and want to help you do the same. If you need help in leading and encouraging your team, reach out to us. I wrote an article some time ago called Start Your Meetings with Wins. This is a great example of how to lead your team. We’ve got plenty more examples where that came from. So, if you’d like some help, go ahead and schedule a free consultation now.

by Scott Ballard , October 11, 2020

It’s the Little Things…

What are the little things that you are doing right now that in the future will lead to the big things in your life?

I really love this saying by Robert Brault: “Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.”

Here’s a list of little things that I’ve compiled for myself that I believe in the future will end up being the big things:

Saying I love you daily.
Sharing a hug.
Saying please and thank you.
Listening intently to the person in front of me.
Learning something new today.
Being thankful.
Smiling.
Doing meaningful work.
Having a great conversation.
Speaking words of encouragement.
Sending handwritten notes.
Living out my faith and beliefs.
Singing songs that give me joy.
Walking into somebody’s life when everybody else walks out.

These are just a few of the things that I believe are little today but in the long term will be the big things in my life and in my legacy.

What are some little things in your life that you feel will make a huge difference in the long run? Please let me know at scott@confidencecoach.org or schedule a call to share your thoughts.

by Scott Ballard , October 4, 2020

Double Vision

Have you ever thought of the term “double vision” for your business?

Double vision is making choices to be profitable and productive today AND three years from today.

Has your business had to pivot from either what you’re doing or how you’re doing it?

We have seen these difficult times give people inspiration and opportunity to create new and better things than ever before.

Just remember, the choices and decisions you make in your business today not only impact today, but they also impact where you will be in your business three years from today.

Let us help you figure out what your best choices and decisions are to move you towards your best future. Reach out today and schedule a free consultation.

by Scott Ballard , September 13, 2020

Tag Archives: portland business coaching

Make the great exchange from “I have to” to “I get to.”