Blog – Page 2 – Jodi Hempel

Do You Quit Too Soon?

Do you give up when you run into obstacles or do you hang in there?

Hanging in there, being persistent is a common quality of high achievers. They don’t quit when the going gets tough.

Robin Roberts, anchor for Good Morning America (GMA), was at the top of her game. Then she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She chose to remain working and to share her journey through surgery and chemotherapy with the GMA audience. As a result of the chemotherapy, she contracted a rare blood disease and underwent a bone marrow transplant. She returned to GMA and is once again at the top of her game.

Oprah Winfrey was fired from her first her TV job. The producer who fired her said she was “unfit for television.” She went on to have the number one rated show on television, The Oprah Winfrey Show, which was syndicated across the U.S.

Do The People in Your Life Contribute to Your Success?

When you were growing up, did your parents ever tell you that they didn’t want you hanging out with specific kids? Did they encourage you to hang out with other kids?

I know mine did. I wanted to hang out with the popular kids who were usually “C students.” She wanted me to hang out with the smart kids, the “A students.” Why is it, that the smart kids are rarely the popular kids? (Revenge of Nerds, anyone?)

Your parents probably knew that you could turn out to be like the kids you hung out with. They were looking out for you.

It is not that different now. You can choose between two groups of people when it comes to your success: those that are contributing to your success and those that are holding you back.

People that contribute to your success are people who:

Have a positive attitude.
Are goal driven and focus on solutions.
Uplift you.
Encourage you.
Mentor you.
Celebrate your victories.

People who are holding you back are those people who:

Complain about everything.
Blame others for their situation.
Judge others.
Have a negative attitude.
Put you and your ideas down.
Stress you out just by being around them.

Where do you spend your time? Make a list of everybody that you spend time with, those that in your circle. Include your family, friends, co-workers and colleagues, clients, neighbors, and people in your civic and religious organizations. Everybody!

Is Fear Stopping You From Having What You Want?

Does fear come up for you when you think about going after something that you want? Do you let it stop you in your tracks?

Most of us have fears come up. Fears like the fear of failure, loss of reputation, hurt feelings, and rejection. Some people even have a fear of success. Yes, really.

When you feel fear you have a physical reaction. Your heart rate speeds up, your breathing changes, you get a knot in your stomach, you sweat, and may even start shaking. This is just how your body lets you know that you are afraid.

When you feel it, don’t ignore it. Acknowledge what you are feeling. Assess the cause of the fear. What kind of fear is it? Is it genuine danger, innate fear, learned fear, or imagined fear?

Are You Afraid to Ask?

I was with a very successful friend over the weekend. I’m not sure how this came up (there might have been wine involved). He told me his number one rule: don’t do anything that someone else can do for you.

That got me thinking. My tendency is to try to do things on my own. When I was growing up I saw both my dad and grandfather take care of things on their own. I saw one or both do their own taxes, build a deck, change a light fixture, do the gardening, and build bookcases. That mindset became part of my DNA.

I know that I am not the only one. I’m pretty sure that some of you find it difficult to ask others for things. Information, assistance, support, money, or time. If you aren’t asking, you’re holding yourself back!

It Takes Action

Wouldn’t be nice if you could just think about what you want and you would have it? Like a magic genie who would grant you all of your wishes. It would, right?

I hate to be the one to tell you, but if you want to get from where you are to where you want to be, you are going to have to take action.

Think about taking a road trip. Let’s say you start out at point A and want to go to point B. If you drive five miles every day, eventually you reach point B. If you your road trip is a 30-mile trip, you’ll get there in 6 days. If it is 500 miles, you will get there in 100 days. No matter the distance, you will get there.

Working toward your goal is the same thing. If you take five actions every day toward your goal, you WILL reach your goal.