Relax, and Become Slightly Famous!

Newsletter 10 - 29 July 2004 This newsletter is published by James Manktelow of Mind Tools Ltd, Hardwick House, Prospect Place, Swindon, SN1 3LJ, United Kingdom. To contact us, please email Newsletter@mindtools.com .

This newsletter keeps you up-to-date on what’s new at Mind Tools and lets you know about new career skills on the Mind Tools site.

In this edition, you will notice some exciting new changes. Starting with this issue, we will include articles on a new range of topics, in an effort to provide you with a full array of useful tools you can immediately put-to-use to bring about positive change in your life.

Firstly, as soon as you access Mind Tools, you'll see we've been putting a lot of effort into improving the look and feel of the site. This is part of our ongoing drive to build Mind Tools into one of the world's leading career skills resources. There are still a few minor tweaks we need to make (particularly for users or Netscape Navigator), however we hope you enjoy the new feel once it's settled down.

Secondly, we're expanding the information we offer you on "soft" skills - skills that bring quality to your life and to your working and non-working relationships. These include practical information on self-confidence, anger management, active listening, even yoga, massage, and more. We're starting in this edition by taking a look at relaxation and provide you with an easy, proven technique to relax and even lower your blood pressure. We'll also talk about Active Listening.

Thirdly, we're about to start a stream of new management-focused tools addressing important business skills such as Team Building, Strategic Planning, Customer Service, Management Training and more.

As well as this, and starting in next month’s newsletter, you will be able to read helpful articles from Mind Tools latest products, including the soon-to-be-released "Make Time for Success!" course. Currently, this product is in beta-test and, subject to the comments made by our beta-testers, should be released in September. Of course, a special thanks to the newsletter readers who are currently participating in the beta testing for our Make Time for Success program. We look forward to your comments and to continuing our work to provide you with the tools you need to shape and mold the life you want! We’ll keep you posted on our progress in this area, as we know firsthand how important effective time management skills are!

Of course, we will continue to bring you the information you have come to rely on, including summaries on some of the most popular tools found on the Mind Tools website, book/product reviews, interviews with best-selling authors, guest articles and more.

Read on to find information on the Creativity section of the Mind Tools website. In this section, everyone can learn how to tap into his or her own creativeness. The articles show you how to devise creative and imaginative solutions to problems, and help you to spot opportunities that you might otherwise miss.

You will also find a look at Think Right Now’s (http://www.thinkrightnow.com/) ”Today Is Your Day to Win,” by Mike Brescia, a no-holds barred daily coaching guide that delivers results. We have also included a guest article written by Steven Van Yoder, author of “Get Slightly Famous”. He has helped business owners get "slightly" famous in print and become mini-celebrities in their fields with his marketing suggestions and ideas.

We hope you enjoy these changes and find the new information we have included useful. We encourage you to let us know what you think and to continue to share with us any products, services or books you wish to see reviewed, as well as tools you wish to see added to the Mind Tools sites. Please continue to contact us at mailto:Suggestions@mindtools.com.

In the meantime, enjoy using the http://www.mindtools.com and http://stress.mindtools.com sites!

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Success Tools: Relaxation

by Kellie Fowler

Multitasking has become a part of our everyday lives. At any given time, most of us are actively working on, or overseeing, a handful of projects and problems all at once, making it nearly impossible to slow down and relax.

Years ago, when I first embarked on a journalism career and subsequently found myself in a bustling newsroom working amongst some of the most experienced writers for a very large, reputable newspaper, I was overwhelmed. As the youngest and one of only two females, I found that the only way I could earn the respect of those around me was to show up first, leave last and give 110% all day long, even when my work days lasted 16 hours! Talk about being on the fast track – the fast track to burnout, that is!

Needless to say, it took just a few short months to realize that the pace I had set for myself was unrealistic. Sure, I was playing in the big leagues and making a great name for myself, but if I wound up too tired to perform, which was inevitable, I would surely make costly mistakes and quickly place myself out of work.

Considering this one weekend, I turned to the local library (I am embarrassed to say that this was before the days of the World Wide Web) to find sources on relaxation. I knew I had to work in some relaxation if I wanted to continue meeting tight deadlines each day with copy that was strong and print-worthy. So, I spent hours at the library that day and left with seven books. To this day, I continue to rely on the information I found in one book, and would like to share this with you.

It was a book called “The Relaxation Response,” by Dr. Herbert Benson, that changed my life and taught me the importance of relaxing each day, and even showed me exactly how to do it.

Based on studies at Boston’s Beth Israel Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Dr. Benson’s quick and easy relaxation techniques have immense physical benefits, from lowering blood pressure to a reduction in heart disease. The book explains how anyone can benefit from learning and perfecting relaxation techniques. In doing so, Dr. Benson created a book that is relied on by healthcare professionals and authorities to treat the negative effects of stress.

By learning to invoke the relaxation response once or twice a day for just ten minutes at a sitting, one can effectively lower blood pressure and gain tranquility in their emotional life, making them more successful both in the workplace and at home.

Try the following 6-step relaxation response the next time you feel anxiety or stress:

1. Sit quietly in a comfortable position.
2. Close your eyes.
3. Deeply relax all of your muscles, beginning at your feet and progressing up to your face. Keep your muscles relaxed.
4. Breathe through your nose. Become aware of your breathing. As you breathe out (exhale), say the word, “ONE”, silently to yourself. For example: breathe IN…OUT, “ONE”, -IN…OUT, “ONE”, etc. Breathe easily and naturally.
5. Continue for 10 to 20 minutes (depending on your schedule). You may open your eyes to check the time, but do not use an alarm. When you finish, sit quietly for several minutes, at first with your eyes closed, then with your eyes opened. Do not stand up for a few minutes.
6. Do not worry about if you are successful in achieving a deep state of relaxation. When distracted, simply return to repeating “ONE.”

Besides relying on this technique a few times each day, I regularly use it to get to sleep at night, especially after a long, hard day or before a tough next day. It’s simple, I can fit it in to my workdays when needed, is fast, reliable and most importantly, it works!

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How To Get Slightly Famous in Print
by Steven Van Yoder

Early in my career, I wrote an article for a small business magazine about self-publishing as a marketing tool for businesses. Because I specialize in helping businesses get into print, the article only took a few hours to write. A few months later it was published. Almost immediately, my phone began to ring and my email box filled up with inquires.

As a result of “Be An Expert, Get More Business” I landed two clients, submitted several proposals, and added dozens of names to my mailing list. Later I used the article in my email newsletter, made glossy reprints for my marketing materials, and arranged to reprint the article in other magazines targeted at potential clients.

Years later, the benefits continue to roll in as prospects read my article on the Internet, recommend it to associates, and hire my firm because I'm an expert in Slightly Famous marketing strategies.

In one instance, a reader became a client even though her company had almost finalized a decision to hire a competitor. "We came across your article, and it made all the difference," she said. "We knew from your article that you could help us."

You might be thinking that success came easily to me because I am a writer. But you don't have to be a professional writer or seasoned journalist to get your name in print. Whether you're a management consultant or a masseuse, you can learn how to pursue print media exposure and succeed. And with more than 10,000 publications in print today, opportunities are virtually unlimited.

Visibility + Competence + Word of Mouth = REPUTATION

Getting Slightly Famous in print media means reaching a larger audience, rather than relying entirely on human contact. After all, there is only one physical you. No matter how much you network, get around, or attend meetings, YOU can only go so far.

Appearing in the media is the equivalent of expanded networking. You reach a targeted audience of people who might buy from you, and you build a relationship with your target market that can lead to sales. Even if you have a small local business, media exposure helps you establish a regional or national presence without leaving your desk.

Media exposure works because it associates your name with the authority of the media. When you read about a business in the newspaper or hear about it on the radio, chances are you immediately elevate that business above its competitors. It has solidity and credibility.

Appearing in media that reach your target market establishes a bond of trust upon which future sales are possible. Ultimately, your Slightly Famous media strategy will develop your reputation as a business of choice in your market niche. As more prospects run across your name in publications targeted at them, you will acquire an aura of expertise that will get you more business with less effort.

Publishing Articles & Columns
Bylined, contributed articles are a mainstay in many trade and special interest publications because most cannot afford full-time writers. From fillers to features, these magazines rely on freelance writers and contributors like you for at least some of their content. Often written for a small fee—or given freely in exchange for an author bio designed to elicit business — these articles show off the expertise of the businessperson or consultant who authored it.

Besides exposing your business to thousands of prospects, it’s possible to get feature articles devoted entirely to your business. As a bonus, article reprints make excellent, low cost sales literature.

The key to publishing expert articles is to package your ideas in a benefit-oriented fashion. Tell prospects how to think about or apply your business solution. Give readers real information they can use, regardless of whether they will buy from you. If you don’t, and use a thinly veiled sales pitch instead, editors will see through it and reject the article.

Articles are usually a one-shot deal. Columns, on the other hand, are regular engagements that allow a writer to build relationships with readers. Columns appear on a weekly or monthly basis in newspapers, magazines, and Web sites. They can brand an author not just as an expert, but also as a friend, confidante, and mentor.

You don't have to achieve “Dear Abby” status to be a successful column writer. As with any Slightly Famous marketing strategy, your column only needs to reach the right people in your target market to position you as a resource.

Be A Media Resource
Bylined articles are not the only way to see your name in print. Read any newspaper or magazine article. You will see a handful of experts quoted within stories as diverse as international business, stock market forecasts or the latest fashion trends.

Reporters are not experts. That's why they need experts from the business world to create their stories. The secret is to position yourself as a media resource.

The media rely on you, the industry expert, to give substance and credibility to their stories. Experts can be book authors, speakers, consultants, managers and professionals. If you have knowledge about a specific subject—and that subject can be your business—you qualify too.

People who get quoted in the media pursue a strategy to be on journalists' radar screens when journalists write stories about their industries. They make themselves available as expert interview sources so that journalists will think of them when they are writing relevant stories.

When you learn how the media works, and mold your expertise into a carefully-crafted media attracting strategy, you actually help the media do its job in exchange for valuable exposure for your company.

With a little effort, you can become the first person on a reporter’s list when a story about your business area comes up. But it won't happen if you don't let the media know you exist!

Time, Commitment, and Consistency
You wouldn’t expect a massive return on a monetary investment overnight. The same goes with getting Slightly Famous in print, where huge dividends come to those who persist.

Like all marketing activities, print media exposure is a long-term commitment that will yield long-term rewards. Is it worth the time? Yes. Landing just a few clients can pay for all your marketing costs for the next year.

If you don't give print media exposure a chance, you'll never know what it can do for you. Establishing your reputation in print takes time. But if you are committed, an inevitable "snowball effect" will take place and can bring you all the business you can handle!

Steven Van Yoder is the author of Get Slightly Famous. Visit his online community at http://www.getslightlyfamous.com where you'll find free resources and programs to help you attract more business with less effort by positioning yourself as a media resource.

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Tools Reviewed: “Today is Your Day to Win,” by Mike Brescia

Published by ThinkRightNow!

Reviewed by Kellie Fowler

I’ve had this book for several months and refer to it on a regular basis. Even so, I never tire of it!

The book consists of 99 daily sessions, each of which is inspiring, detailing what is truly important in life, prompting appropriate action. I read one of the quick sessions at the start of each day. It usually takes less than five minutes and leaves me with a positive outlook and the information I need to bring about positive change in my life, on a daily basis.

Intended to work like a personal coaching session, “Today is Your Day to Win” is superb. It empowers with practical information and is full of great success secrets that we can all use right now!

Each daily session starts with a topic and is followed by an empowering quote (these come from everyone from John Lennon to Andrew Carnegie). The actual session follows and can be read in just minutes. The session concludes with winning beliefs for the day, which serve to drive home the information in the session and leave readers with ongoing thoughts that will enhance their daily performance and attitude.

I have read the book from front to back once and recommend following through with the program as suggested, from the beginning to end, doing a session each day. After doing that, you may find, as I have, that just opening the book up to a random page each day provides you with the extra kick in your step to take the action(s) you need to achieve success.

For more information on “Today is Your Day to Win”, by Mike Brescia, go to http://www.thinkrightnow.com/.

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Personal Coaching: Active Listening

It is obvious to say that if you have poor interpersonal communications skills (which include active listening), your productivity will suffer simply because you do have the tools needed to influence, persuade and negotiate – all necessary for workplace success. Lines of communications must be open between people who rely on one another to get work done.

Considering this, you must be able to listen attentively if you are to perform to expectations, avoid conflicts and misunderstandings, and to succeed - in any arena. Following are a few short tips to help you enhance your communications skills and to ensure you are an active listener:

1. Start by Understanding Your Own Communication Style
Good communication skills require a high level of self-awareness. Understanding your personal style of communicating will go a long way toward helping you to create good and lasting impressions on others. By becoming more aware of how others perceive you, you can adapt more readily to their styles of communicating. This does not mean you have to be a chameleon, changing with every personality you meet. Instead, you can make another person more comfortable with you by selecting and emphasizing certain behaviors that fit within your personality and resonate with another. In doing this, you will prepare yourself to become an active listener.

2. Be An Active Listener
People speak at 100 to 175 words per minute (WPM), but they can listen intelligently at 600 to 800 words per minute. Since only a part of our mind is paying attention, it is easy to go into mind drift - thinking about other things while listening to someone. The cure for this is active listening - which involves listening with a purpose. It may be to gain information, obtain directions, understand others, solve problems, share interest, see how another person feels, show support, etc.

If you're finding it particularly difficult to concentrate on what someone is saying, try repeating their words mentally as they say it - this will reinforce their message and help you control mind drift.

3. Use Nonverbal Communication
Use nonverbal behaviors to raise the channel of interpersonal communication. Nonverbal communication is facial expressions like smiles, gestures, eye contact, and even your posture. This shows the person you are communicating with that you are indeed listening actively and will prompt further communications while keeping costly, time-consuming misunderstandings at a minimum.

4. Give Feedback
Remember that what someone says and what we hear can be amazingly different! Our personal filters, assumptions, judgments, and beliefs can distort what we hear. Repeat back or summarize to ensure that you understand. Restate what you think you heard and ask, "Have I understood you correctly?" If you find yourself responding emotionally to what someone said, say so, and ask for more information: "I may not be understanding you correctly, and I find myself taking what you said personally. What I thought you just said is XXX; is that what you meant?"

Feedback is a verbal communications means used to clearly demonstrate you are actively listening and to confirm the communications between you and others. Obviously, this serves to further ensure the communications are understood and is a great tool to use to verify everything you heard while actively listening.

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Mind Tools “Old Favourites”:
Mind Tools Creativity Section

This section of the newsletter is here to refresh your memory of some of the most powerful techniques featured on the Mind Tools site. In this edition, we take a look at the Creativity section, which boasts techniques that have been used by great thinkers to drive their creativity. Albert Einstein, for example, used his own informal variant of Provocation to trigger ideas that lead to the Theory of Relativity.

This section on the Mind Tools website demonstrates three systematic approaches to creativity. This is followed by important lateral-thinking approaches, which can be used to develop original solutions to problems. In this section you will also find two powerful and important problem-solving processes.

Particularly helpful in the Creativity Section are the techniques for improving products and services, a matrix for creating new services and for evaluating with new perspectives, random input technique for making creative leaps and the problem-solving processes.

As with all Mind Tools sections, this section is supported by informative, easy-to-understand articles, applicable book reviews and other resources sure to help you enhance your own creativity.

The Mind Tools sections are all easily downloaded in PDF format for later use or reference. For more information on developing your creativity skills further, visit: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/main/newMN_CT.htm.

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Final note from James…

This continues to be an exciting time for the Mind Tools team, with new developments scheduled throughout the year. We are excited about our new products and services and all the positive change these are sure to bring about for each of us! As always, we encourage you to share our newsletter and the tools you find most effective with colleagues and friends. After all, the more people we reach, the more lives we improve and the more successes we can be a part of. For us, that’s what it’s all about – helping people lead balanced lives while achieving their ultimate successes and dreams.

James

James Manktelow

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