Posted by Sharman Lawson on Mon, May 17, 2010 @ 07:00 AM
Bixler Consulting Group provides leadership consulting for mid to senior level executives in executive coaching, leadership workshops, and The Bixler Circle of Leadership. Founded in 1980, Bixler Consulting Group works nationally with over 1,500 corporations and businesses.
One of the lessons I learned is that there is no silver bullet to happiness. There just isn't one single accomplishment, one relationship, one house, one job, one bank balance, or one institution that can single handedly create happiness. Ask Buzz Aldrin, who was part of the Apollo 11 team that was the first to land on the moon. He had a very difficult time creating new goals in his life after that event!
While each event, activity, and person can add to our lives, it is the aggregate of all of them that makes a successful life. I believe a key component to happiness is staying connected.
Connectedness. We do get by with a little help from our friends and colleagues. In our coaching work, we call it The Circle of Influence. It's the group of 20+ people that we report to, are on teams with, have to collaborate with, or directly supervise. Each in their own way plays a role in making us better. Everyone's job in 2010 is to expand his or her Circle of Influence with individuals who are a positive force to encourage and bring out the best in us.
Trevor Marsicano, 20 year old Olympic star speed skater, faced childhood bullying, depression, severe injury, and yet had the determination to not let his astonishing athletic skill be denied. He said the best advice he ever received was "Surround yourself with positive people."
What is your basis for happiness?
For more information on our workshops, seminars, and executive coaching please visit our website at
www.bixlerconsulting.com or send your inquiry to
info@bixlerconsulting.com.
To contact Susan Bixler, President & CEO: sbixler@bixlerconsulting.com
Posted by Sharman Lawson on Wed, May 12, 2010 @ 07:00 AM
Bixler Consulting Group provides leadership consulting for mid to senior level executives in executive coaching, leadership workshops, and The Bixler Circle of Leadership. Founded in 1980, Bixler Consulting Group works nationally with over 1,500 corporations and businesses.
Get clear on what and who gives you energy and put those people and activities into your life. Know your strengths and keep maximizing them. You will become incredibly competent and consistently energized. Stay away from truly toxic people because they will deplete your energy and make it impossible to grow. Stay away even if they tempt you with a boatload of promises. But allow for the possibility that sometimes a seemingly toxic person may be struggling with issues and fear of which you are not aware. An edge, a temper, or a crummy attitude may melt with an unexpected act of generosity. Repairing a broken relationship can heal and reenergize you.
What do you do to preserve, maintain, and grow your energy?
For more information on our workshops, seminars, and executive coaching please visit our website at
www.bixlerconsulting.com or send your inquiry to
info@bixlerconsulting.com.
To contact Susan Bixler, President & CEO: sbixler@bixlerconsulting.com
Posted by Sharman Lawson on Sat, May 08, 2010 @ 03:08 PM
Bixler Consulting Group provides leadership consulting for mid to senior level executives in executive coaching, leadership workshops, and The Bixler Circle of Leadership. Founded in 1980, Bixler Consulting Group works nationally with over 1,500 corporations and businesses.
Creating clarity in one's life is very difficult, whether you are graduating from high school or college, are employed or unemployed, or are starting a business. Getting clear on what to do next is not easy whether we are 18 or 80. Dedicating two to three hours every quarter and writing down 90-day goals is a powerful process. The key is not to file them away, but pull them out every day and act on at least one key item within 24 hours. The habit and discipline of thinking, writing, and reviewing goals can create a more exciting and abundant career and life. Good habits empower us. Just remember it's about progress, not perfection.
Have you gotten clear on your goals?
For more information on our workshops, seminars, and executive coaching please visit our website at
www.bixlerconsulting.com or send your inquiry to
info@bixlerconsulting.com.
To contact Susan Bixler, President & CEO: sbixler@bixlerconsulting.com
Posted by Sharman Lawson on Tue, May 04, 2010 @ 07:00 AM
Bixler Consulting Group provides leadership consulting for mid to senior level executives in executive coaching, leadership workshops, and The Bixler Circle of Leadership. Founded in 1980, Bixler Consulting Group works nationally with over 1,500 corporations and businesses.
Leadership combines the science of fact and emotion, but not always in equal parts. Facts alone have never won a single game in any sport. Facts alone have never built a company, sold an idea, or motivated people to reach beyond themselves. Leadership is tapping into the passion and emotions of your team and combining them with the facts. The simplicity of creating passion and connection is to listen well. Listen as if that person is the only one in your universe. Don't interrupt and don't relate anything back to your own experience for at least 5 minutes. Pay attention to what your team member or colleague is passionate about.
Ask yourself "What is important to you in your work?" "What is important to you in your life outside work?" "What do you want to achieve in life, more than anything else?" "What single thing in business or in life is worth the struggle?"
For more information on our workshops, seminars, and executive coaching please visit our website at
www.bixlerconsulting.com or send your inquiry to
info@bixlerconsulting.com.
To contact Susan Bixler, President & CEO: sbixler@bixlerconsulting.com
Posted by Sharman Lawson on Fri, Apr 30, 2010 @ 07:00 AM
Bixler Consulting Group provides leadership consulting for mid to senior level executives in executive coaching, leadership workshops, and The Bixler Circle of Leadership. Founded in 1980, Bixler Consulting Group works nationally with over 1,500 corporations and businesses.
Recently, I attended an event where a celebrity speaker had an incredible opportunity to influence about 2,000 people. This audience was already on her side and could write checks, volunteer, and make a difference to her cause. The celebrity came unprepared without much thought to the tremendous platform she had, and as a consequence, her speech fell flat. It was a missed opportunity to impact her audience and benefit the charity in which she had been involved for over 10 years. How many times has that happened to us? I cringe when I think about a commencement speech I delivered poorly because I didn't take the time to prepare. I just tried to wing it. Over-preparation and over-practicing is never a mistake. We fool ourselves when we think it is. World class performers know better and make sure they hit the mark every time. Think about pro golfers who win a major tournament and afterwards hit 1,000 practice putts.
Do you practice going from good to great in your business and personal life?
For more information on our workshops, seminars, and executive coaching please visit our website at
www.bixlerconsulting.com or send your inquiry to
info@bixlerconsulting.com.
To contact Susan Bixler, President & CEO: sbixler@bixlerconsulting.com
Posted by Sharman Lawson on Mon, Apr 26, 2010 @ 07:00 AM
Bixler Consulting Group provides leadership consulting for mid to senior level executives in executive coaching, leadership workshops, and The Bixler Circle of Leadership. Founded in 1980, Bixler Consulting Group works nationally with over 1,500 corporations and businesses.
Quick story. Two shoe salesmen land in a small village. None of the villagers have shoes. One texts back to the company "No market here. They don't wear shoes." The other texts back "Huge opportunity. They don't wear shoes."
It takes the continual and sometimes intentional act of re-framing events that provides fresh thinking and opportunity in our lives and our businesses. In fact, reframing means that there is a jewel (or a pony) in everything, somewhere.
With optimism and a sincere belief in the goodness of people, there is also gratitude. They go hand in hand. Ray Lewis, a Raven's star linebacker who was acquitted of murder in 2000 in Atlanta, has dedicated his life to bringing exercise and health to the homeless. He has an on-going boot camp at homeless shelters in Baltimore where he personally leads the workouts. He also has regular workout sessions for the police in Baltimore , which is a partnership that he probably never considered before his trial.
Trevor Marsicano, 20 year old Olympic star speed skater, faced childhood bullying, depression, severe injury, and yet had the determination to not let his astonishing athletic skill be denied. He said the best advice he ever received was "Surround yourself with positive people."
Is optimism and gratitude central to your life?
For more information on our workshops, seminars, and executive coaching please visit our website at
www.bixlerconsulting.com or send your inquiry to
info@bixlerconsulting.com.
To contact Susan Bixler, President & CEO: sbixler@bixlerconsulting.com
Posted by Sharman Lawson on Thu, Apr 22, 2010 @ 10:17 AM
Bixler Consulting Group provides leadership consulting for mid to senior level executives in executive coaching, leadership workshops, and The Bixler Circle of Leadership. Founded in 1980, Bixler Consulting Group works nationally with over 1,500 corporations and businesses.
Look around your own company. Who has created sustainable happiness? What do they have in common? Some are over 50, others are under 30, some are fairly wealthy, some pretty broke. But the thread that ties all happy people together is they have found a purpose beyond themselves. Maybe it is serving fried chicken in the cafeteria or maybe it is leading the entire company.
Medical research on happiness was conducted in Calcutta with people in desperate poverty. What they learned is that in Calcutta, if people had families to care for and some purpose beyond their own survival, their happiness level was almost on par with middle class American families. Go figure.
But don't get me wrong. Strong cash flow, well earned professional stature, and cool toys are terrific but they are outcomes of financial success and not necessarily happiness. Leveraging and sharing beyond self-interest, losing ourselves by finding purpose in our life's work, has proven to be a key element to happiness.
What is your purpose beyond yourself that helps you weather the storm as well as balances the "heady" times of success?
For more information on our workshops, seminars, and executive coaching please visit our website at
www.bixlerconsulting.com or send your inquiry to
info@bixlerconsulting.com.
To contact Susan Bixler, President & CEO: sbixler@bixlerconsulting.com
Posted by Sharman Lawson on Tue, Apr 06, 2010 @ 07:55 PM
Bixler Consulting Group provides leadership consulting for mid to senior level executives in executive coaching, leadership workshops, and The Bixler Circle of Leadership. Founded in 1980, Bixler Consulting Group works nationally with over 1,500 corporations and businesses.
In 1980 I started with the idea that I could turn my passion for coaching and consulting into a business. What I didn't have was experience, funding, or a well-thought-out business plan. Still the business evolved as I called on clients, increased my network, and joined business groups. It was never in a straight line, never without adversity or setbacks. Yet surprisingly I discovered my biggest obstacle was not the marketplace or the competition. It was me. I have always limited myself more than anyone else has. As I expanded my view of myself and what my company could offer, it helped me upgrade how I thought about the unfolding opportunities that laid ahead of me. That's when I wrote my first book, The Professional Image, which launched the company and stayed in print for 15 years.
How many times do you limit yourself and dream small?
For more information on our workshops, seminars, and executive coaching please visit our website at
www.bixlerconsulting.com or send your inquiry to
info@bixlerconsulting.com.
To contact Susan Bixler, President & CEO: sbixler@bixlerconsulting.com