Keys to Selling Yourself

Today I'll summarize what I think are the real keys to successfully selling yourself in any arena. Here they are:

• Be approachable. Even in the busiest day be approachable when you are needed. Sometimes just a few minutes for someone else is all that it takes. Schedule the few minutes if you need to.
• Take strong positions. Even if your position is unpopular, stand by it if you really believe it. This will set you apart.
• Look the part you want to play. If you want to sell yourself, dress the part, act the part, speak the part.
• Build relationships - this takes time. Connect with key people and build upon each relationship. Be genuine and enjoy the relationship.
• Don't be average - be different from the rest. Never settle for less. Finish what you start. Enjoy the ride - every single day.

Next week my topic is leadership.

Selling Yourself by Listening Better

An excellent way to sell yourself is by listening well. Good listening skills will take you further than you can imagine. And, with practice, this skill set can lead to many new opportunities for professional, as well as personal, growth. People want to be heard and appreciate being listened to during conversations and in meetings.

Five ways to be a better listener:

• Never interrupt.
• Don't think about what you are planning to say while others are talking.
• Ask questions to clarify what the other person really means.
• Listen to hear what isn't being said.
• Re-state what you have heard and understood - just to make sure you did!

Selling yourself to anyone is much easier when they know you're listening to them. A good listener is a good find - professionally and personally.

3 Ways to Get Noticed

Whether you're looking for a new job, changing careers, or moving up your career ladder in the same organization where you've always worked - these 3 ways will get you noticed.

• Set yourself apart with your introduction.
• Make your words fit your actions.
• Finish the job - every single time.

You introduce yourself many times. Create a unique way of introducing yourself that will state who you are and what you do. Set yourself apart with your authenticity.

Make your words, both spoken and written, fit your actions. Or, if you prefer, "say what you mean and mean what you say." Set yourself apart with your authenticity.

Never leave tasks undone. Finish what you start. Stop waiting for the perfect way to do the job. Just get it done and worry about revising it later. Finish the job every single time. Set yourself apart with your authenticity.

I think that authenticity is really the only way to get yourself noticed. And, believe me, people notice.

Who Are You?

In the process of putting ourselves "out there" everyday we can define and re-define who we are. How do we define ourselves? These are some questions that might help.

• Who am I?
• Who do I want to be?
• What do I believe?
• What is my highest priority?
• What are my best attributes?
• What are my struggles?
• What can I do for the people with whom I work?
• What really sets me apart from anyone else in this world?

Ultimately, we can choose how we define and present ourselves to the world. But unless we define ourselves in authenticity to what we really believe, we will never make it work for us in the way we need it to and want it to. Who are you? Who do you present to the world everyday? Are you authentic in your presentation?

How to Sell Yourself

Welcome to Week 3 of This Week with Sara Fitts. I'm glad you're here! This week I'm writing about personal development as well as business development - how to put your distinct trademark on your work and on your life. I hope you find it helpful.

Whether you're self-employed, changing jobs or careers, or happily employed in the perfect position - you must sell "you" every single day. How do you sell yourself? How do you put yourself out front everyday? Are you presenting yourself in your best light?

Here are some questions to consider:

• What sets you apart?
• What makes you different?
• How do you respond to ordinary events?
• How do you respond to unpleasant events?
• How easily do you fit in?
• How do you "wear" on others?
• What's your best trait?
• How can you reduce the effects of your worst trait?

During the next few days we will explore a number of ways to really put yourself out there and sell who you really are to your audience - whatever audience that may be. Think about the answers to the questions I asked. Clarity is the first step as we begin to design a marketing plan for selling you to the world.

TIme Management: Capture an Hour

The strategy I'm suggesting today can be a powerful tool in managing time. Capture an hour a day just for you. It may sound frivolous to busy people. It may even sound like it defeats the purpose; however, it has been proven by my own clients to work wonders for time management. Stay with me.

When you actually have some time - an hour is wonderful, but it can be 15 minutes or half an hour - you can relax and create some much needed breathing space. When you have this time and space, you will view everything else through a different filter. I truly believe that we all need breathing space and time to think. After an entire week of capturing an hour a day, productivity increased among my client base by an average of 95%. And when this strategy becomes part of your operating system, the results are even better.

A lot of people feel they don't have an hour to "give up." My answer is to break the hour up into 15-minute segments or 30-minute segments. My point is this: make it work for you. Whatever it takes to create time to think and breathe is key to your success and to your ability to produce personally and professionally. It is an investment in yourself. It is a powerful tool that will help you tremendously. Try it for a week or more - and let me know if it works for you. I think you'll love it.

Time Management: Schedule Everything

An excellent way to manage your time better is to schedule everything. Anything that must be done can be scheduled. Your calendar is a structure that can be used to assign specific times for each event or project. Additional tools that can help are PDAs, scheduling software (Outlook), and lap tops.

Now the hardest part of this process is the act of scheduling what needs to be done. This can take place on a daily or weekly basis - whatever works better for you. In just 20 minutes or so, an entire week can be scheduled. The focus for this part of the exercise is to assign the time to either complete the item or project - or time to work on it. Don't think too much about this - just do it!

After everything has been scheduled, honor your commitments. Keep the appointments you have made with yourself. If it is important enough to do, it is important enough to schedule. And because life happens, make sure to schedule some flex time each day for the unexpected. My clients have had tremendous success utilizing this technique. It works for me, too! Try it for a week or so, and see what it does for you and your time management.

Time Management: Stop Talking and Start Doing

Too often we seem to run out of time because we either (1) spend too much time talking about all we have to do; or (2) we simply talk about too many ways to accomplish a particular item or project that must be done. We sometimes talk too much and never get around to doing what it takes to accomplish the major task at hand. Then too much time has passed and too many other things start piling up and we get even more and more behind - and more frustrated - and more overwhelmed.

I think the key is to stop talking and start doing. Sometimes just the action of doing something is motivational enough to stay with the project until it is completed. Often the hardest part of anything is simply getting started. Once we begin working, often the priority item is completed quickly - which is quite rewarding and motivational. And once we've accomplished one item or project, we are free of the burden that sometimes hangs around it!

Perfection is fine; however, there aren't many "perfect" solutions. Too often we wait way too long for the perfect way to do something - and waste valuable time, effort, and energy in the process. My solution is simply this: stop talking and start doing. Get it done. Feel the freedom it will bring. It is powerful and forward-moving just to complete a task. It energizes and moves us forward the rest of the day. Try it and see what happens.

Time Management: Refuse to Chase Waterfalls

Have you ever chased a waterfall? Did you ever catch one? Think about the futility in attempting to chase a waterfall. It is impossible to do - but you're still exhausted after trying! And since you haven't succeeded at it, you're disempowered and feel like you failed at your task. Sometimes this feeling of failure stays with you and negatively impacts the next day - and then the next. Soon the feeling itself has paralyzed any forward movement.

When we refuse to chase waterfalls, we are refusing to put low-priority and no-priority items at the top of our "To-Do Lists" and are forced instead to concentrate only on the things that are high-priority, most important, and have the best chance of successful completion. We can certainly have big goals, but the key here is to have a plan of action and completion that is possible. We must discern between what is possible, what is necessary, what is required, what is futile.

Refusing to chase waterfalls is another of my time management secrets. We can only manage our time when we are not chasing waterfalls!

Take the time to identify the waterfalls that you may be chasing - and refuse to chase them any longer. You'll immediately feel the power of having more time - and more control over your time. Try it - and see what happens.

Time Management in a Week: Shift the Mindset

Welcome to week 2 of This Week with Sara Fitts! I'm glad you're here. I'm writing about time management strategies this week and I hope you find them helpful.

I think the first real secret to time management is shifting the mindset. We all have a certain, limited amount of time each day. It doesn't matter what else we do, the amount of time does not and will not change. The only thing we can really change is our mindset - and, of course, how we manage the time we have.

Shifting the mindset involves answering these questions:

• How important is my time?
• Where do I waste time?
• Where am I managing my time well?
• Am I trying to do too much in a limited timeframe?
• What is the most important thing for me to accomplish today?

My bottom line is this: I must value my time in order for anyone else to value it. I must place a value on it - and hold that value both literally and figuratively. Within certain parameters I set my timeframes - and hold on to these timeframes. If I don't honor my time, no one else will ever honor it.

Shifting the mindset is the first real secret to managing time. Try it - and see what happens!

Unleash the Power of Focus

The power of focus allows us to do whatever it is we really want to do - without distraction and with intention. I often refer to this as intentional focus. It happens when we decide - personally or professionally - that we want or need to accomplish a particular thing. Once we identify this as a priority, then it is a much easier process. The power of focus is tremendous.

These are some ways to unleash the power of focus within each of us.

• Make "priority" items the priority.
• Work in scheduled timeframes each day until the item is accomplished.
• Take short breaks to clear the mind and create the needed space for more focus.
• Be intentional about accomplishing the "real" priority versus the "perceived" priority.
• Celebrate each success - thus creating more success at a faster rate.

If something is important enough to you, find a way to get it done. Unleash the power of focus and get it done!

Creating Focus

We all can create focus in our lives and in our work. I believe there are 3 steps involved in this process.

1. Decide what is so important that we need or want to focus on accomplishing it.
2. Set boundaries for ourselves and others in order to develop the focus.
3. Commit to the shift in paradigm or mindset that promotes and protects this focus.

It's much easier to have focus when we know what is most important in our lives and in our work. We need to limit how we define what is most important and not use this opportunity as a "To-Do List" because that will diminish all focus. What is the most important priority today?

If it is important enough to do, it is important enough to be protected by certain boundaries. We can set boundaries any number of ways. Examples of boundaries can be closed doors, voicemail, start and stop times, eating lunch and dinner uninterrupted, turning off the cell phone, or even utilizing scheduling software to set "appointments" for our own work times. Whatever works as a boundary to protect what is most important - is worth doing. How will you protect what's most important to you? What measures will you take?

Sustainable success is achieved when we change the way we think about focus. Focus is a verb, too! We must believe that we can change our paradigm and mindset - and, if we truly believe it and commit to it, it will happen in our lives and in our work. We must commit to shifting our way of thinking in order to be more successful in creating focus. How important is it to accomplish your highest priority? What mindset will it take?

Positive Focus

Welcome to This Week with Sara Fitts! I'm glad you're here. Today I'm writing about focus - and the power it has to move us forward faster.

I strongly believe that what we focus on expands. If we focus on negative, self-defeating thoughts, then we will become so negative that we soon become paralyzed by that negativity. If we focus on positive and empowering thoughts, they can actually expand enough to propel us forward.

Simply by starting each day with a single positive and empowering thought we can move forward faster and create a powerful focus for ourselves.

What do you focus on? What holds your focus? What enhances your focus? What diminishes your focus? How powerful is your focus?