What would you do if you could live forever?

What would you do if you knew you could live forever?

Would you set any goals in your life?

The chances are you would put off all the great things you wanted to achieve because you could just do it tomorrow and life would become very boring.

When you realise that we are here on this earth for a limited time, Ireland as an example in 2021 had a life expendency of 82.5 years or approx 4,300 months.

4,300 months, now I challenge you to stop and reflect as you live your life at 100 mph trying to build a career that includes the validation and approval from others and a personal life that is, in truth full of envy and comparison of others a life that overall leaves you exhausted, drained and unfulfilled.

Anything worth striving for in life has some pain along the way if you can understand and believe why you are striving for that ambition then that's a start.

Taking time out to talk to a coach like me can help you reframe your life and ambitions so you can achieve your goals while managing your stress and live a life where you can really experience what is happening in the present and build a future for both your personal life and career that you really want.

Believe in yourself.

Managing upward coaching on the beach with bjkennomotivation.

Saturday delighted to carry out a coaching session with a client on the beach as we walked and talked and took time with a coffee to work on strategies for managing upwards.

You work hard but struggle with some of the feedback you get from your boss. Some bosses can be judged as being unfair and you may feel they make your life difficult regardless what you do.

Part of the problem is all the invisible work you do, the hidden work, like problems you solve with customers each and every day while you save customer relationships, over and above managing your team and meeting your personal objectives.

Building and managing your relationship with your boss is crucial for your future career.

Some steps to move ahead.

- Understand the colour of your boss (see my previous blog)

- Clarify your roles and responsibilities

- Show your boss you can deliver results by communicating progress on work.

- Advise your boss early if things are not going well.

- Ask for feedback and some career advice.

Following these steps will enable you to continue being a top performer yet demonstrate your abilities to work with miminal direction.

As a result your boss will have more time for you and will provide additional coaching and opportunities to help you progress.

bjkennomotivation.com

Get to know your sub- conscious

Sunday thought for a new week ahead.

Our sub-conscious mind helps us make decisions without having to think about them. It stores our beliefs and our values  and decides what's sent to the conscious mind.
It's the gatekeeper of our comfort zone.

So if you want to change your limiting beliefs and how you react to things that don't go your way in life or you want  to understand why you  procrastinate  in achieving goals.

You gotta think about your sub conscious mind.  I can help.

2 hour Sunday home bike ride
35.5k as Eunice and Frederick were knocking on the door.

Believe and you can achieve.

#change #react #mindsetiseverything

Your career is decided when you are not in the room -

Here is a thought for January and a chance to ensure 2022 is a year you can progress your career.

If you do not have a plan for your future career then for sure you will be part of someone else’s plan which may not include you.

Decisions about your future are being made in rooms you are not present.

This time of the year many companies review their “talent” for development as part of the succession plan. The problem is if you are not in the plan no one will tell you, but you will watch from the sidelines as others including new graduates will be provided with opportunities to gain greater experience, communicate with senior management and work across the organisation.

Meanwhile you work hard, put in long hours and feel dejected, overlooked and have no idea why you are not getting opportunity.

The chances are you presently sit within a succession talent plan where management place each member of their team in the grid.

The overall grid is then discussed to identify staff ready now for promotion and “stretch” along with staff with potential to get a promotion within the next 24 months and also staff that need to do more to meet agreed objectives.

What can you do?

Identify 3 people you work with who you trust and ask them for honest feedback on what they see you doing on a daily basis. Ask them what you do well and what do they think you can improve on.

You yourself should review the work you carry out daily and identify all the invisible great work you do that is not openly visible to your boss.

Review the feedback honestly, then ask your manager the same questions discuss the invisible work you do daily and ask where you fit in the succession planning. If you are not in the top talent pool ask for a plan for 6 to 12 months that can get you there and have it reviewed regularly so you stay on course.

So what you really need to understand now for 2022 is that if you don't have a plan for your future someone else will decide it when you are not in the room.

Taking time with a good coach can help you with your future career path, never a better time to invest in yourself.

Believe and you can do it.

bjkennomotivation.com

The hunger for fullfillment

Take a moment, what would a fulfilling life look like to you? , what does success look like to you?

So now ask yourself what will it take for me to be fulfilled?

Is it possible you could feel fulfilled today but not tomorrow? Could it be if you feel you are fulfilled then you could be excused in thinking your life is finished or complete.

Where do you go now?

The truth is feeling fulfilled is about feeling alive, about being our true selves in the present moment and being happy.

Doing work that makes you happy and uses your talents would indeed make most people feel fulfilled.

Fulfillment is therefor possible every day.

Believe in yourself.

For coaching session check out bjkennomotivation.com

Why you should build resilience in your children

A weekend thought.

We all have a strong desire to protect our children.

However some parents go way to far by removing any obstacles or struggles or opportunities to experience pain or disappointment of any kind in their lives and even completing school assignments for the kids so they can succeed.

What they do not realise is that they are setting the seeds for the child to develop low confidence, low self esteem, anxiety and depression.

Raising our children to be resilient, to have the ability to be able to bounce back when things don’t go to plan is the best thing we can do.

Helping them identify their self awareness, their emotional reactions can help them come out stronger after facing a difficulty.

Teaching our children to relax, learn from mistakes, maintain perspective and a positive outlook on life will help them build their own self confidence and independence and ultimately ability to accept responsibility.

As a parent you will then watch your children put their energy into situations they have control over, and recognise empowerment and confidence on their journey.

Do that and you will be a true leader eh parent.

Are you a Helicopter parent? , a Jellyfish parent? , a Lawnmower parent? , or a Stealth fighter parent? , all of them push obstacles out of the way, ensure kids don’t experience pain and disappointment and even do the work for the kids.

Think about it this weekend.

What do you see when you look in the mirror?

Thursday thoughts.

What do you see when you look in the mirror?

As we make our way through this life there are many learnings.

However, as we live our lives at 100 miles an hour most fail to identify these opportunities as we continuously strive for more.

A time will come when you look in the mirror and you will have to be honest with yourself. This is the time to research and build a growth mindset for yourself, and have the future you truly desire.

You are responsible for your life.

When I look back on my life, I see pain, mistakes and heartache. When I look in the mirror I see strength learned lessons and pride in myself.

You can do it. Believe

bjkennomotivation.com

#opportunities #mindset
 

Why I inspire others to achieve success

As a career coach, a wellbeing coach and a motivational speaker I have been asked to work with individuals and teams to inspire them to success.

My own personal story of surviving 7 armed robberies in a banking career and suffering mental exhaustion in 2010 working 84 hrs a week and coming back to become a marathon and Ultra Marathon runner to give back for charity and coach individuals and teams not to fall into the traps i did.

It’s very important that leaders show and display belief and take responsibility for the team they manage.

Unfortunately some people have never committed to anything, never engage and expect all they want in life to drop in their lap, as they pine for a future that will never occur.

Changing the mindset of the individuals while building confidence in each team member inspires commitment to change, its something I do really well.

A good coach provides guidance to each person and celebrates wins, focuses on the positives and not the obsticles.

New beginnings allow teams to break old habit patterns and for the coach to provide the opportunity for the team to use setbacks to build new solutions.

Building the resilience of the team includes each member working on their endurance, physical, mental and emotional.

Physical- vitality, strength and physical flexibility.

Emotional - feelings, self awareness, motivation, empathy, social skills.

Mental-motivation, self-efficacy, confidence, gratitude. Optimistic view.

As a motivational coach I believe that in business and sport the basics are similar.

I explain to management and teams that persistence will get you there but consistency will keep you there.

As an award winning operational manager in the corporate space and a confident successful winner in sports, I know what it takes to help you and your team reach their goals.

Coaching individuals and teams through adversity and coaching people to be resilient is what I do.

Coaching them to know the moment in life where you might believe you have arrived actually never arrives it just opens another page in the chapter of your life.

Inspiring individuals to believe all things are possible and by living in the moment you can get the break through to be the person you always dreamed of being and be happy.

Believe and you can do it.

Promote a healthy workplace not a Bully

If you are reading this something about the title drew you in.

Most people have witnessed some form of bullying in the workplace. Most people have not done anything about it.

Most people are aware bullying in any aspect of life can cause, sleeplessness, lack of consentration and appetite, headaches and emotional outbursts and significant drop in productivity in work.

Most people are aware bullies smartly carry on within the lines of an organisation. It takes a strong leader to take action.

The university of Copenhagen has highlighted through a survey of 80,000 workers that bullying in the workplace was likely to increase the incidence of heart related illness by 59%.

A bullied person was 1.59 times more likely to develop heart disease or stroke and 1.46 times likely to develop type 2 diabetes within 10 years of suffering bullying in the workplace.

The rising levels of stress harmones like cortisol along with the individual coping measures like eating to excess and drinking too much alcohol and lack of sleep add to the health issues.

The University of Sheffield and the University of Singapore have also concluded similar results with the addition of how the effect of actually witnessing the act of bullying can have adverse health effect on the witness.

So if you are being bullied or you witness it then please seek help ASAP.

Do away with humiliation, intimidation, and good people being on tender hooks.

It has never been more important for organisations to create a culture in which bullying is totally taboo and absolutely 100% not acceptable in any form.

Promote a healthy workplace not a Bully.

Why your high performer doesn’t want promotion

It may be strange but not everyone wants to be a CEO or go for promotion.

Many years ago I was asked why some people in my team had not applied for a managerial promotion. The question was raised purely due to the quality of the peoples work and length of service.

It was still regarded if you were great at the work then you would be a good manager.

I sat the person down and explained that not everyone wants a promotion, the people who were great at their job may have a different perspective on life and were happy.

I pointed out that these people far from having no ambition came to work each day

With a positive attitude

Demonstrated a team first ethos

Carried out their roles perfectively

Had great pride in the company they worked for.

Mentored the younger staff in the team with training so the team results could be great.

Called out to the team if standards were slipping

Called out unacceptable behaviour because they believed in the culture and values of the organisation.

They consistently delivered on their sla’s they could always be relied on to get the job done and bring others with them.

The team looked to them as the go to person as they knew the systems and processes and they embraced it and as a result they have helped others to work to the best of their ability and take pride in the team.

Your most valuable employee may not be interested in promotion or being the next future CEO but they know their role, they embrace it and show leadership in many ways while living the life they want.

So to the leaders I urge you to embrace them and celebrate them and do not see them as people with no ambition, see them for what they are valuable top performers who do way more than can be seen on the surface as they send many future leaders on the way to success with the correct attitude to work culture and fun in the workplace.