As we plan for a grand New Year's Eve, we should take an evening to reflect back on 2007. What were your goals for the year? Did you achieve them? Did you surpass them? Or, do you have trouble remembering if you had any?
What did you accomplish this year? Did you enhance your social life? Get a promotion or education? How has your life been enhanced?
Once you toast your successes or try to ignore your failures, its time to prepare for 2008.
If this is new to you start off easy.
(1) Make a list of what you'd like to do next year. Include financial, personal and professional goals. Try to make them measurable and meaningful (I'll lose 10 lbs versus I'll lose weight).
(2) List them by goals you'll track monthly or near years end.
(3) Put this list on your fridge. Tell your friends. Look at the list each day. Every morning remind yourself of your goals- and think of small ways that you can move toward achieving them.
(4) Review your goals seriously every month. Ask for help when you need it. Find a coach if necessary. Don't beat yourself up if you fall off track. Just get back on!
(5) Reward yourself for success. When I quit smoking - after more than a decade- I saved my money that I would have spent on cigarettes and used it for massages. It was fabulous. As I come upon 10 years smoke-free I am planning a long weekend away. Never diminish the accomplishments in your life. Celebrate! Celebrate! Celebrate!
Now, go out there and make 2008 your year!
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Sunday, December 2, 2007
What was the greatest gift you've ever received?
What is the greatest gift you've ever received?
As the holidays approach I have begun buying gifts for those I love. Over the years I've become less interested in the selfish holiday I see so many people enjoying- spending a fortune and forgetting what the holidays are really celebrating. In protest, I've opted to buy smaller, more meaningful gifts. I usually honor my friends and family through charitable donations. Everyone seems to appreciate that. And, I feel better giving it myself.
So, what is the greatest gift you've even received? Is it a tangible? Or is it an event?
For me, the greatest gift I've received is a value. I am thankful that my Mother taught me ...manners. She taught me how to be polite- yes, even to strangers. I can't begin to tell you the number of times that people have made mention of how "friendly" I am. They thank ME for being nice to THEM. Read that again, yes you read it correctly. I say "please" and "thank you" and I even use "m'am" and "sir" when I feel its appropriate.
If you don't think that manners have a place in society today, I challenge you to try them for one week and see the difference. Compliment someone. Hold the door. Help someone you don't know. You'll see how gorgeous the world can really be. Sure, you'll get the random jerk who has no clue that you just did or said something nice, but you have the upper hand. You ARE the better person. Enjoy that.
Just this week I observed an emergency at a neighbor's home. I didn't know them (they had just moved in) but I offered my assistance in making the calls, driving the car and spending hours at the emergency room. I had to cancel two business appointments, at the last minute, but still I knew this was the "right" thing to do. How would you have wanted to be treated in the same situation? Don't lose your values in the routine hussle of your day. Get a hold of yourself- come back down to earth.
I've just written WWII Radio Heroes (available at www.powletters.com and www.amazon.com) which is a story about people helping people. Absolute strangers offering a hand, and a dollar, to someone they don't know who is in desperate need of information. My great-grandmother heard from 69 strangers, all across the country, that her son, my grandfather- my hero- Robert May Spahr, was a prisoner of war. He was captured by the Germans (our origin) in 1943 in N. Africa and held for 26 months. He returned, thank God, and began a family with the woman he loved. As history goes I came along, the only one in my generation. I found these 69 letters 20 years after my grandfather passed. I reached out to find the original authors of those postcards and letters- to say "thank you". My journey began there. You can read more about my manners and my search at www.powletters.com
May you recognize the gifts you've been given and be thankful. Exercise those gifts each day.
Thank you- for reading my blog.
Happy Holidays.
As the holidays approach I have begun buying gifts for those I love. Over the years I've become less interested in the selfish holiday I see so many people enjoying- spending a fortune and forgetting what the holidays are really celebrating. In protest, I've opted to buy smaller, more meaningful gifts. I usually honor my friends and family through charitable donations. Everyone seems to appreciate that. And, I feel better giving it myself.
So, what is the greatest gift you've even received? Is it a tangible? Or is it an event?
For me, the greatest gift I've received is a value. I am thankful that my Mother taught me ...manners. She taught me how to be polite- yes, even to strangers. I can't begin to tell you the number of times that people have made mention of how "friendly" I am. They thank ME for being nice to THEM. Read that again, yes you read it correctly. I say "please" and "thank you" and I even use "m'am" and "sir" when I feel its appropriate.
If you don't think that manners have a place in society today, I challenge you to try them for one week and see the difference. Compliment someone. Hold the door. Help someone you don't know. You'll see how gorgeous the world can really be. Sure, you'll get the random jerk who has no clue that you just did or said something nice, but you have the upper hand. You ARE the better person. Enjoy that.
Just this week I observed an emergency at a neighbor's home. I didn't know them (they had just moved in) but I offered my assistance in making the calls, driving the car and spending hours at the emergency room. I had to cancel two business appointments, at the last minute, but still I knew this was the "right" thing to do. How would you have wanted to be treated in the same situation? Don't lose your values in the routine hussle of your day. Get a hold of yourself- come back down to earth.
I've just written WWII Radio Heroes (available at www.powletters.com and www.amazon.com) which is a story about people helping people. Absolute strangers offering a hand, and a dollar, to someone they don't know who is in desperate need of information. My great-grandmother heard from 69 strangers, all across the country, that her son, my grandfather- my hero- Robert May Spahr, was a prisoner of war. He was captured by the Germans (our origin) in 1943 in N. Africa and held for 26 months. He returned, thank God, and began a family with the woman he loved. As history goes I came along, the only one in my generation. I found these 69 letters 20 years after my grandfather passed. I reached out to find the original authors of those postcards and letters- to say "thank you". My journey began there. You can read more about my manners and my search at www.powletters.com
May you recognize the gifts you've been given and be thankful. Exercise those gifts each day.
Thank you- for reading my blog.
Happy Holidays.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Who do you serve?
Where has customer service gone? And, will it ever make a comeback?
Lisa Speaks:
My friend, Tara, and I always talk about bad customer service experiences we have. Sadly, we have alot of them to talk about, frequently.
Tara and I met at teens working at a music store in York, PA. We learned all about customer service through this experience. We learned that customers are NOT always right. That's absurd. However, you need to learn how to TREAT THEM right if you plan to ever work with them in any capacity.
A recent example: I was waiting in line at Rite-Aid in Pittsburgh and the youthful employee at the photo register was staring at me. I raised my eyebrows and asked "are you open?" He said, "that's why I'm staring at you." Nice. I ask you- is this good or bad customer service?
On the counterside of this: I was flying from Pittsburgh to Denver and went into L'Occitane to pick up a travel size perfume. The woman behind the counter began a pleasant conversation with me and when she learned I was headed to the mile-hile city, she loaded me up on samples to keep my skin hydrated. I will visit her on every trip outbound from Pittsburgh- and I can call her and have my order delivered - at no charge.
Your Coach Speaks:
Define customer service. Have your employees define it. Is it part of your value, mission or principles statements?
Use the Mystery Shopper/Client. Have someone call or visit with you business and see what level of service they receive.
Talk to employees about why client relations are important to the sustainability to the business.
Evaluate your own interactions with clients and potential clients. Are they spectacular? Or are they mediocre?
Ask yourself- why do people choose me over my competitors? Why should they?
What do you know about your clients? When is the last time you touched base with them? Do you reward them for their referrals?
Call me. Let me help you achieve excellent customer service today.
Lisa Speaks:
My friend, Tara, and I always talk about bad customer service experiences we have. Sadly, we have alot of them to talk about, frequently.
Tara and I met at teens working at a music store in York, PA. We learned all about customer service through this experience. We learned that customers are NOT always right. That's absurd. However, you need to learn how to TREAT THEM right if you plan to ever work with them in any capacity.
A recent example: I was waiting in line at Rite-Aid in Pittsburgh and the youthful employee at the photo register was staring at me. I raised my eyebrows and asked "are you open?" He said, "that's why I'm staring at you." Nice. I ask you- is this good or bad customer service?
On the counterside of this: I was flying from Pittsburgh to Denver and went into L'Occitane to pick up a travel size perfume. The woman behind the counter began a pleasant conversation with me and when she learned I was headed to the mile-hile city, she loaded me up on samples to keep my skin hydrated. I will visit her on every trip outbound from Pittsburgh- and I can call her and have my order delivered - at no charge.
Your Coach Speaks:
Define customer service. Have your employees define it. Is it part of your value, mission or principles statements?
Use the Mystery Shopper/Client. Have someone call or visit with you business and see what level of service they receive.
Talk to employees about why client relations are important to the sustainability to the business.
Evaluate your own interactions with clients and potential clients. Are they spectacular? Or are they mediocre?
Ask yourself- why do people choose me over my competitors? Why should they?
What do you know about your clients? When is the last time you touched base with them? Do you reward them for their referrals?
Call me. Let me help you achieve excellent customer service today.
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
What are your values?
What are your values?
What do you value?
How do your values play out in your business?
When I coach people on their long-term plans I talk with them about what is most important to them. What legacy do they want to leave? Why? And, how do they plan to do so?
Have you lost yourself in your work? Are you living each day with the values that are most important to you? If you are NOT, STOP. Re-evaluate the journey you are on.
I'm not here to judge how my clients choose to live their lives. I'm here to help them live better- as defined by them!
I love that. It keeps things interesting. And, one of my values is to keep things lively in my life.
Cheers. Live Well.
Lisa Spahr- your life coach for better living!
What do you value?
How do your values play out in your business?
When I coach people on their long-term plans I talk with them about what is most important to them. What legacy do they want to leave? Why? And, how do they plan to do so?
Have you lost yourself in your work? Are you living each day with the values that are most important to you? If you are NOT, STOP. Re-evaluate the journey you are on.
I'm not here to judge how my clients choose to live their lives. I'm here to help them live better- as defined by them!
I love that. It keeps things interesting. And, one of my values is to keep things lively in my life.
Cheers. Live Well.
Lisa Spahr- your life coach for better living!
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Health Insurance is for the Healthy and Risk Free Only
This weeks rant is about the hideous state of health care- for the working and specifically for the self-employed. Let's explore a common example- HPV and health care (or health care-less as it really should be called).
Lisa Speaks:
Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is a common virus found in sexually active women. You may have recently heard about this as a result of the vaccine that has come on the market to protect young women from the virus (well, a number of strains of the virus). There are two types of the virus. One causes genital warts and the other is linked to a high risk of cervical cancer.
The CDC reports "approximately 20 million people are currently infected with HPV. At least 50 percent of sexually active men and women acquire genital HPV infection at some point in their lives. By age 50, at least 80 percent of women will have acquired genital HPV infection. About 6.2 million Americans get a new genital HPV infection each year."
So, given that so many people are and will be infected with HPV, how or why is it ethical and legal for health insurers to deny health insurance to people who have HPV (or other pre-existing conditions, however I'm focusing on this for now)? Many consumers are willing to pay for quality health care- yet the Doctors say the money isn't good enough for them to accept insurance and the insurers say the profits are too low to insure certain people (20 million with HPV). What?
HPV doesn't mean you'll get cancer or warts. Many infected don't know and continue to expose others. Yet, if it landed on your medical chart at some point, OR you were an honest consumer who disclosed it on your health care application- YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN. Oh, they'll give you insurance, just a couple bucks toward a routine exam and a little more if you are reckless and in a car accident. But, honesty in your record and a desire to maintain good health- pay in cash and hope you don't get cancer one day. Or, stopy being self employed and go back to a big box company where you are likely to get better coverage. Thanks.
Your Coach Speaks:
1. Pay close attention to your health insurance coverage (what is included and what isn't)
2. Encourage your employer to always look for better coverage based on the needs of the employees
3. Look for wellness benefits outside of your health care coverage to keep yourself in great shape (even if you have to pay for some of it- you are, after all, worth it)
4. Speak with private health insurers/brokers if you have conditions that are hard to find coverage for (shop around until you've exhausted the options)
5. Get involved and outraged! Speak with your legislature and let them know this is unacceptable, unethical and immoral to the hard-working citizens of the state and country
6. Talk with parents of young girls/women (14-20's) to educate them about the HPV vaccine
7. Take sex seriously- always do it safely so that HPV doesn't have to be a part of your vocabulary
Lisa Speaks:
Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is a common virus found in sexually active women. You may have recently heard about this as a result of the vaccine that has come on the market to protect young women from the virus (well, a number of strains of the virus). There are two types of the virus. One causes genital warts and the other is linked to a high risk of cervical cancer.
The CDC reports "approximately 20 million people are currently infected with HPV. At least 50 percent of sexually active men and women acquire genital HPV infection at some point in their lives. By age 50, at least 80 percent of women will have acquired genital HPV infection. About 6.2 million Americans get a new genital HPV infection each year."
So, given that so many people are and will be infected with HPV, how or why is it ethical and legal for health insurers to deny health insurance to people who have HPV (or other pre-existing conditions, however I'm focusing on this for now)? Many consumers are willing to pay for quality health care- yet the Doctors say the money isn't good enough for them to accept insurance and the insurers say the profits are too low to insure certain people (20 million with HPV). What?
HPV doesn't mean you'll get cancer or warts. Many infected don't know and continue to expose others. Yet, if it landed on your medical chart at some point, OR you were an honest consumer who disclosed it on your health care application- YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN. Oh, they'll give you insurance, just a couple bucks toward a routine exam and a little more if you are reckless and in a car accident. But, honesty in your record and a desire to maintain good health- pay in cash and hope you don't get cancer one day. Or, stopy being self employed and go back to a big box company where you are likely to get better coverage. Thanks.
Your Coach Speaks:
1. Pay close attention to your health insurance coverage (what is included and what isn't)
2. Encourage your employer to always look for better coverage based on the needs of the employees
3. Look for wellness benefits outside of your health care coverage to keep yourself in great shape (even if you have to pay for some of it- you are, after all, worth it)
4. Speak with private health insurers/brokers if you have conditions that are hard to find coverage for (shop around until you've exhausted the options)
5. Get involved and outraged! Speak with your legislature and let them know this is unacceptable, unethical and immoral to the hard-working citizens of the state and country
6. Talk with parents of young girls/women (14-20's) to educate them about the HPV vaccine
7. Take sex seriously- always do it safely so that HPV doesn't have to be a part of your vocabulary
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Ladies Stay Away from Mr. Thomas
Lisa Speaking:
Whether its Clarence or Isaiah, sexual harassment in the workplace is a very real and very serious experience as well as an egregious accusation. Since joining the ranks of the working force, women have experienced sexual harassment. We also have cases of women filing erroneous cases of harassment for various motives. Someone could perceive harassment that isn’t there. And yet still others will continue to work in sexually harassing workplaces for many other reasons. I am also quite certain that the number of men being sexually harassed in the workplace will rise, as more women enter leadership positions and chose to behave inappropriately with or toward their male subordinates.
Sadly, I have to say that some of these experiences rise from the inability of women (collectively) to recognize how their own behaviors with male colleagues permits an environment which teeters on the border between “overly-friendly, girly, flirty…” to sexually inappropriate. These interactions make it difficult for other women to be respected in the workplace. Those women are often referred to as “prudes” if they don’t giggle, welcome glances at their legs or backsides and encourage language that, again, goes to the border of inappropriate. I do recognize that the balance is difficult. We shouldn’t have to be asexual when in the workplace but at the same time we are all responsible for our behaviors in the workplace. And, those behaviors contribute to the workplace environment that others are subjected to. Although the balance is hard, it doesn’t mean you can ignore it.
Your Coach Speaking:
Evaluate the climate in your own office. Are you on the border? How so?
How could what you say or how you behave be perceived as sexual harassment? (Really think about this before you say “it can’t”)
Are you being harassed in the office? If you think so, talk to two separate people about it (outside the office). What do they say? Seek help if you need it. It may require you setting more limits or having a casual conversation with the person involved. It doesn’t have to rise to the level of legal action in many cases.
Are you the sex kitten I refer to above, who men in the office love? Could you be supporting an environment that offends and harasses others? You may not care- until you are called into the courtroom – or loose your job.
Act responsibly and professionally at all times. We are all counting on you.
Whether its Clarence or Isaiah, sexual harassment in the workplace is a very real and very serious experience as well as an egregious accusation. Since joining the ranks of the working force, women have experienced sexual harassment. We also have cases of women filing erroneous cases of harassment for various motives. Someone could perceive harassment that isn’t there. And yet still others will continue to work in sexually harassing workplaces for many other reasons. I am also quite certain that the number of men being sexually harassed in the workplace will rise, as more women enter leadership positions and chose to behave inappropriately with or toward their male subordinates.
Sadly, I have to say that some of these experiences rise from the inability of women (collectively) to recognize how their own behaviors with male colleagues permits an environment which teeters on the border between “overly-friendly, girly, flirty…” to sexually inappropriate. These interactions make it difficult for other women to be respected in the workplace. Those women are often referred to as “prudes” if they don’t giggle, welcome glances at their legs or backsides and encourage language that, again, goes to the border of inappropriate. I do recognize that the balance is difficult. We shouldn’t have to be asexual when in the workplace but at the same time we are all responsible for our behaviors in the workplace. And, those behaviors contribute to the workplace environment that others are subjected to. Although the balance is hard, it doesn’t mean you can ignore it.
Your Coach Speaking:
Evaluate the climate in your own office. Are you on the border? How so?
How could what you say or how you behave be perceived as sexual harassment? (Really think about this before you say “it can’t”)
Are you being harassed in the office? If you think so, talk to two separate people about it (outside the office). What do they say? Seek help if you need it. It may require you setting more limits or having a casual conversation with the person involved. It doesn’t have to rise to the level of legal action in many cases.
Are you the sex kitten I refer to above, who men in the office love? Could you be supporting an environment that offends and harasses others? You may not care- until you are called into the courtroom – or loose your job.
Act responsibly and professionally at all times. We are all counting on you.
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