Posted on Monday, December 12, 2016

I Write…

We’ve talked at length about the importance of creating content that people can easily share and make use of. But what importance do images play when creating good content? Do images really matter? Can they increase the click rate of your article? Of course, they can—check out these great image tips to get the most out of your content!

Make Sure Your Images Are Relevant

When you’re creating a blog or website, it’s important that the images you use are relevant to the topic. It has been said that content with relevant images get 60% more views than content without relevant images. Be careful, choose wisely and go for it!

Originality… But Not So Original People Can’t Understand

Okay, we all know that picking the right image can be tough. You need to find the right balance between clichéd images that might make your content look dated, and something too unique and obscure that will leave your visitors confused. Start with relevant and move onto interesting. Don’t be led astray by the wild ways of internet image sites.

Try to Use People…

As humans, we respond to faces, so using images of people in your content can be a simple way of boosting engagement. Choose people who are relatable to your audience, think about your content and keep the people relevant to the theme. If you are talking about working in the creative industries, don’t use an image of someone in a corporate office in a suit. Try to lead people to your content with an eye toward being exciting.

Use Images to Keep Interest

Now that we know which kind of images you need, we need to discuss something else. How many images should you include in your content? It depends on how much text you have, but as a general rule, try and insert an image every couple of paragraphs. The more images, the more you will interest the reader.

Use Good Quality Images

Don’t fall into the mistake of using poor quality images. When adding images to your blog, website or campaign, it is important that they are high resolution images that are going to look sharp and not pixelated. Seriously… the better the images, the better you will look.

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Posted on Friday, December 9, 2016

I Teach…

This week, we are going to look at a major problem. The issues that arise between businesses and clients that damage business relationships are one of the biggest problems you will face as you build your business. This blog identifies all the major issues—and should help you fix them. There is no reason to have a poor rapport between yourself and your clients! If you do, let’s fix it!

Not Listening

This is one of the most obvious signs of poor communication in every business relationship. Someone who always cuts off their client every time they speak can send a wrong message to that person; for example, that their opinion and their thoughts are insignificant. Try to improve your listening skills and always try to understand what your client is telling you. This is one of the best ways to prevent any misunderstanding.

Being Passive Aggressive

Passive aggressiveness is one of the most dangerous forms of communication. By using it, you can put the other person on the defensive, and in the long term, this type of behavior can affect the stability of your relationship.

Losing Your Temper Very Easily

If you have anger issues, and if you easily lose your temper, then you might have communication problems, too. Anger will not allow you to express yourself rationally, and your behavior may hurt your client’s feelings or cause them to get angry in return. Despite this, everyone is accountable for their actions and for their reactions. If you remain calm during an argument, you can discuss things rationally to sort things out and not risk damaging the relationship.

No Nagging

Yes, nagging is indeed a sign of poor communication in your business relationship.

If you constantly nag, repeating the same demands over and over, you are not communicating efficiently, and the other person will not receive the message you are trying to send. Learn straightforward communication techniques that allow the problem to be addressed productively.

Ignoring That Person

Ignoring your client is not a way to improve the communication in your relationship. Not talking to your client when you are upset over something they did is never a good solution if you want to solve the problem. Ignoring your client will only cause more problems in your relationship, and you will only sabotage yourself and your business.

Shouting, Screaming and Using Poor Language

Even if you’re upset, this doesn’t give you the right to offend or to hurt someone, especially in a professional environment. Don’t use profanities, and be respectful!

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Posted on Wednesday, September 21, 2016

I Speak…

Last week, we touched upon a problem many public speakers have. That problem is not knowing how to breathe correctly. Now, we all know that we are born with the ability to breathe—but to breathe correctly when speaking in public is another thing altogether. I thought it might be a good idea to share a few tips with you about correct breathing—tips you can take with you and help turn your speaking engagements into huge successes. This week, we will discuss relaxing before your speaking engagement, so these are tips to help you breathe to relax. Let’s try them out!

Deep Breathing Means Relaxing

For those who do not regularly practice deep breathing, they may not know all the health benefits. Learning how to properly deep breathe, and letting that breath fill your lungs and travel through your whole body, can help you to relax and take on anything that may be going on in your life. This is at the heart of your well-being and healthy living, so it is crucial to learn how to deep breathe properly and practice it regularly.

Breathing for Better Health

Deep breathing and learning to embrace this practice is part of healthy living and well-being. Learning to embrace it, and develop and practice breathing patterns that work for you, is a huge part of living the best life possible.

Exhale Longer Than Your Inhale

You should be letting the exhale take twice as long as the inhale to get the most out of it. This will take some practice. Take the time to take each breath in but then take twice as long to let it out so that you can really feel it throughout your whole body.

What Stress?

Stress can be easily melted away if you learn how to make deep breathing a part of your life. As you feel the stress coming on and starting to settle within your body, take the time to step away and take a few good deep breaths to allow the stress to simply melt away in no time.

What Pain? Is Pain Distracting You?

There is a reason why women in labor practice breathing exercises — it really does help with the worst pain! By practicing deep breathing exercises, you can block out the pain and focus instead on this therapeutic exercise for your well-being.

Stretch for Well-Being

Yoga is a great part of a healthy lifestyle, not just for the exercise that it brings, but for the stretching and breathing that it incorporates. When you are stretching and focusing on your breathing, you are working on your overall well-being, and this can work wonders for your physical and mental well-being.

Breath Yourself to Energy

As you take in deep breaths, you will feel rejuvenated, and this brings natural energy to your body. Learning to take breath in the appropriate way and holding it will pour energy onto every bone and muscle in your body, which will bring you the natural energy you are seeking.

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Posted on Wednesday, August 3, 2016

I Speak…

One of the biggest problems with writing a speech is knowing where to begin. There are many people out there who would happily write your speech for you—but for those public speakers who really want to hit their audience and hold their sway, there has to be a level of self-knowledge. You need to know how to open your speech—how will your audience react to what you have to say? How does your personality grab your audience? Are you patriotic? Are you revolutionary? What does the world think about you and what you have to say? Take a look at these speech openers, and see if you can see yourself starting with some of these…

Thank You Very Much

Some of the best speakers start by thanking the audience for coming and thanking the organization for inviting you to speak. Refer to the person who introduced you or to one or more of the senior people in the organization in the audience. This compliments them, makes the feel proud and happy about your presence, and connects you into the audience like an electrical plug in a socket. As someone once told me—manners are more important in business than degrees.

Think Positive, Start Positive, Be Positive

You can begin by telling the audience members how much they will like and enjoy what you have to say. Explain how positive you feel the audience is towards you, and that you are excited to get to know the people in front of you. Keep a level of positivity and people will engage with you.

Compliment the Audience

You can begin by complimenting the audience members sincerely and with great respect. Smile as if you are really glad to see them, as if they are all old friends of yours that you have not seen for quite a while. How about telling them that it is a great honor for you to be here, that they are some of the most important people in this business or industry, and that you are looking forward to sharing some key ideas with them.

The Audacity of Hope

Remember, the ultimate purpose of speaking is to inspire people to do things that they would not have done in the absence of your comments. Everything you say should relate to the actions you want people to take and the reasons that they should take those actions.

Question Time…

You can open by making a positive statement and then asking a question requiring a show of hands. How about starting with one crucial question that everyone in the room will have an answer to: “Who here wants to be a billionaire?”

Refer to a Recent Conversation

Some of the greatest public speakers start by telling a story. Some of the most effective stories are recent conversations. “I was talking to Bill the other day—we were discussing this event, and he told me that the people in Louisiana are some of the best people you could ever hope to meet. I have been here for a few hours, my first visit to the great state of Louisiana, and I have to say that Bill was completely correct. This is the best event in the country, bar none.” See? Complimenting, telling a story and engaging will have them listening from the get-go.

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Posted on Friday, July 29, 2016

I Teach…

Being a life coach takes more than just learning from a book. There are skills you will need that you already have, yet you may not even know that you have them. Coaching is a little bit like having a good conversation with a friend. A great coach can have a natural rapport with anyone simply by taking advantage of a few of the skills they already have. Let’s look at those skills…

Be Curious About What Your Client Has to Say

When we speak about listening with curiosity, we’re talking about showing genuine interest in what others are saying to you. All too often we listen without really showing interest. We are impatient and truly show a lack of attentiveness, which in turn hampers constructive conversation. We are too focused on our own agenda. Be genuinely curious. Don’t do all the talking, and keep interruptions to a minimum. Pace the conversation, and don’t be afraid to keep it focused and on target. Be involved and your client will be involved, too.

Take It All In

Sometimes you can project all the necessary nonverbal cues to give the other person a sense that you’re listening with curiosity, but you could still be failing to take in any information. While projecting a sense of curiosity, don’t forget to absorb and register what is actually being said. You need to hear the words, read the gestures, and take in the thoughts, ideas, and emotions of the other party. To take in what you hear, you need to pace the conversation and put yourself in the shoes of the other party. If you aren’t listening—you aren’t coaching.

Reflection Is Key

Reflecting back with accuracy shows the person you’re really listening and confirms that you have digested the right information. It also allows the person to hear back what he or she has said and to check within him or herself: Is it exactly what he or she meant to say? Try to take notes, and refer back to them often. Don’t be afraid to ask your client to delve deeper into what they’ve said. Try to get to the root of their issues.

Ask Questions…

Asking questions extends the conversation and allows for a more productive dialogue. Ask open-ended questions that allow more exploration to take place. By asking open ended questions, you give your protégés an opportunity to find answers within themselves. When someone actually discovers the answers for themselves, it empowers them. When you question for exploration, you reinforce in their minds that you believe in them, and that their opinions, knowledge, and experience are worthwhile. You build their confidence. A true coach will always look to build the confidence of their client.

Don’t Be Afraid to Give Back

Feedback is often thought of as being inherently critical, but that need not be the case. Successful coaches are careful and discriminating about how they employ feedback, knowing that poor or incomplete feedback could stifle their protégés or even cause feelings of inadequacy in them. The successful coach avoids the common mistake of using feedback as a vehicle for asserting expertise. Unclear, arrogant, or dismissive feedback can drive your protégés into defensiveness and destroy the trust so critical to your relationship. When providing feedback, coaches should strive to make it clear, make it relevant, make it helpful, and make it positive. Try to always end on a positive note.

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Posted on Friday, April 8, 2016

Publishing Your Book: Covers: Part Eight

fear1 After writing a book, many people want to know how one goes about publishing a book. A well-known author once said recently that “it’s no great feat to get one’s book published—it’s no great mountain to climb.” He is right, but his opinion is subjective. To you, reading this blog, it is a huge mountain to climb to get your book published. There are many paths you can take up that mountain, but it is still a huge feat.

This week we are going to look at some pointers about cover design. Covers are a selling tool like no other. They are usually the first thing people see, and they are usually the thing that makes someone buy or not buy. Covers capture interest—so it’s important for you to have the right one.

The wrong cover can be devastating to your sales. A poor cover can turn off readers and can even cause your book to be returned by customers. Bad covers can also lead to poor reviews. But what do I mean by a bad cover? Let’s look at the four biggest problems we see on covers. You can see covers that have these problems all over Amazon.

• Spelling errors on the cover
• Poor punctuation
• Pixelated images
• Poor name and title placement

But these are not the only things you have to think about when putting your cover together. You also have to become an ad-man and create a cover that looks good as a thumbnail. I bet you didn’t think about that! Yes, your cover has to stand out as a thumbnail on Amazon. So keep that in mind and test your covers. Shrink your cover in size and spend some time looking at it. Can you still make out the image on the front? Does it still look as attractive? Would you buy that book?

Give it a try—and see for yourself!

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Posted on Wednesday, April 6, 2016

How Much Can You Do During a Warrior Wednesday?

“Do more, see more, feel more, achieve more… make Wednesday YOUR day for achievement!”

Have you ever wondered about the people who seem to zoom through their day and achieve everything they started out wanting to achieve? Have you ever wondered how they do it? I’m sure each of us knows someone who can get much more done in a day than we believe possible. The super filer, the busy typist, the amazing salesman. What gives those people such drive?

It really comes down to the need to meet goals. Some people have an inbuilt need to achieve everything straight away. But there are ways for you to also help yourself make more from your days. This week, we will be talking about increasing productivity during our days, so our evenings can be less stressful.

Make Notes

The most successful people in the world always carry a notepad in their pockets to make notes. Many of us use our computers or phones and make notes on the diaries we have there. But this doesn’t seem to cut it for many people—it’s better to write it down and refer to something that is real—a piece of paper.

Time Management

Those who are super achievers know that time is a finite thing. On a daily basis, we only have so much time to do things. That’s why it’s important for us to make the most from our time. Try timing your activities, multi-tasking or combining tasks. This will help you cut down on the time you are spending on an activity and will cut the number of things you have to do.

Relax…

Even during the most stressful day, successful people find the time to wind down. Even in the office, you can spare a few moments every day to take your mind off work, meditate for a few minutes or read the news. Relaxation is part of what makes us successful. We have to know when to turn on the standby button.

Colleagues Can Be Fun

Try to be as social as possible. The more social you are at work, the more you feel like part of the team. Try interacting with as many people as you possibly can—and make friends. Working with friends is much better than working with people you hardly know.

Wake Up, Gotta Get Out of Bed

What can really set back our days is being late for work. Once you are late for work, you can expect your day to become sluggish. Try heading to bed earlier, waking up earlier, watching the news, having a relaxing breakfast and then heading to work. There’s no reason to rush anything in your life—take it at its own pace!

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Posted on Monday, April 4, 2016

Holding Back the Fears: Conquering Fears — Part 14

fear1 The only thing normally holding many people back—and away from their dreams—is themselves. They suffer from terrible fears when they try to better their lives. Inner fears like frustration, failure and lack of confidence allow some to be talked out of success by their own demons. These fears control the lives of many people but can be conquered.

This new series of blog articles is all about fears that will hold you back—and how to conquer them. This week we are going to take a look at sociophobia, a crippling fear that can stop you reaching your full potential, and can even stop you from living a normal, everyday life.

Sociophobia is the fear of society or people. People with this phobia find it hard to even have or maintain friendships.

The origin of the word socio is Latin (meaning interpersonal relationships) and phobia is Greek (meaning fear). Sociophobia is considered to be a social phobia, which is discussed on the home page. Sociophobia is also known as anthropophobia and related to phobanthropy, which is a morbid dread of being around other people and of human society in general.

Recognizing Your Phobia

The symptoms of sociophobia can vary greatly by person depending on their level of fear. The symptoms typically include extreme anxiety, dread and anything associated with panic such as shortness of breath, rapid breathing, irregular heartbeat, excessive sweating, nausea, dry mouth, nausea, inability to articulate words or sentences, dry mouth and shaking. If you are finding you’re sweating with an increased heartbeat when in the presence of people, you may well be suffering from sociophobia.

Overcoming Your Phobia

Recognizing Negative Thoughts

The first step is to identify the automatic negative thoughts that underlie your fear of social situations. For example, if you’re worried about an upcoming work presentation, the underlying negative thought might be: “I’m going to blow it. Everyone will think I’m completely incompetent.”

Challenge Everything!

It helps to ask yourself questions about the negative thoughts: “Do I know for sure that I’m going to blow the presentation?” or “Even if I’m nervous, will people necessarily think I’m incompetent?” Through this logical evaluation of your negative thoughts, you can gradually replace them with more realistic and positive ways of looking at social situations that trigger your anxiety.

Feel No Fear

It can be incredibly frightening to think about why you feel and think the way you do about social situations, but understanding the reasons for your anxieties will help lessen their negative impact on your life.

Look Around You!

In order to reduce self-focus, pay attention to what is happening around you, rather than monitoring yourself or focusing on symptoms of anxiety in your body. Try looking at those around you, the sky, trees, plants or anything else that is going on in your vicinity. Focus on the world at large.

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Posted on Wednesday, August 19, 2015

It’s Warrior Wednesday: Imagine an Epic Moment in Your Life When Everything Changes for YOU, Good or Bad…

A Special Message from your Vision Midwife

Imagine One Epic Moment in your life when everything changes for you, GOOD or BAD….

Many seek to set goals throughout the year. While some goals are met, many are left undone. How do we maneuver our way through life with challenges coming at us in a speed of light? Challenge at the work place, at home front, in business, in health?

Today, I share with you some wisdom nuggets on how to use a moment in our lives to catapult us into our destiny. This lesson is taken from simply observing the life-cycle of a butterfly.
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Until Next time,
Be Inspired, Be Motivated, Be Of Sentimental Value, Be Authentic

Dr. Princess Fumi S. Hancock
Storyteller, Filmmaker, Behavioral Health & Transformation Interventionist

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Posted on Wednesday, July 15, 2015

It’s Warrior Wednesday: 7 Ways of Standing TALL, FIRM, & STILL in the Midst of a Raging Storm

What do you do when all hell breaks loose in your home, at your place of work and you look around and help seems to elude you?
Genius.com

How do you overcome all the confusion, frustration, and the overwhelming sense of disconnection with a relationship, a work place, your boss… whoever you may slide into this question?

Here are steps (which I call my wisdom nugget) to help you move through your most difficult season:

(1). Understand that this season is TEMPORARY;
(2). Be Still… Be Still… Be Still…;
(3). Truthfully assess your circumstances and make sure that you have not brought this particular situation on, due to your action or inaction;
(3b). If you have, then repent and chart a new course for yourself without regrets;
(4). If not, begin to thank the heavenly father because your storm is about to shift into a victory dance;
(5). No one lives alone….We are created to live life with others. As such, figure out who your confidant is and share this agonizing situation with him or her;
(6). In all that you do, PUT GOD FIRST!
(7). Understand that your Creator has your back no matter what!
(8). PRAY! PRAY! PRAY! And meditate on God’s Words. The answers you are seeking are embedded in his words.

Until Next Time,
Be Inspired, Be Motivated, Be Of Sentimental Value, Be Authentic

Dr. Princess Fumi S. Hancock
AUTHOR, SCREENWRITER, TRANSFORMATION EXPERT

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