Creating a Development Plan

As I started this year and began thinking about areas where I'm lacking in growth and expertise I realized that my focus goal should be more about development versus some of the other goals that I had set for myself. 

Make your first goal a development plan. What is a development plan? Well a development plan is a goal to become more competent or knowledgeable in an area that you aspire to master. It doesn't always include going back to a physical classroom. For example I have two children in the toddler age range and setting boundaries and discipline is always a challenge. My goal is to set aside time to learn more about child development and strategies to raising young children. I bought a book on how to discipline toddlers and on child psychology. For me to become a better parent I need to read and educate myself and implement strategies that work for my children. 

There has never been a better time in human history where knowledge is literally at our finger tips. Make use of it. Create a development plan to help you advance.

Happy Summer if you're a New Yorker.

One Love

Danni

ITS YOUR DREAM- FINISH IT

 While sleeping I was in the middle of a nightmare when it dawned on me that this was in fact a dream and I had the power to change the ending.

The beauty of the past is that we already went through it and the beauty of the future is that we have the ability to create it. 

When feelings of fear, doubt and lack of confidence seem to rob us of our drive, step into the drivers seat and unleash your power. For many years I've been a spectator in my life versus an active participant. I have now come  to learn that the greats in this world despite their fear and lack of confidence they muscled up the strength to push through.

Be your own hero, become the person you aspire to be. It takes hard work, confidence and lots of faith. But if we are to win, if we are to have break throughs, we have to push forward in confidence.

Run towards your dream.

One Love

Danni

HOW TO MAXIMIZE ON THOSE GOALS

 A few days ago I was listening to one of my favorite podcasters in the motivational space talk about maximizing on your goals. I always thought monthly goal check ins were the way to go but his tips took it a step further. I decided to give it a try and honestly I love it. Here are his tips combined with a few that I gained from the book The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People .

A. Categorize your goals. Your goals fall into one of four quadrants 

1. Urgent and Important  

2. Not urgent and important 

3. Urgent and not important 

4. Not urgent and not important 

When you sit to write your goals place them in one of these categories before putting together your daily tasks. Many days we find ourselves going through the day outing fires and at the end of it all nothing of substance has been accomplished.

B. After determining the goal or goals you are going to work on that day you now write down your task list. To maximize on your task you have to place them in one of the four quadrants. If you are sincere with yourself you will eliminate the tasks that only serve to make you feel good vs tackling the task that you have been avoiding but plays an integral role in pushing the needle towards your goal. In other words stop doing not urgent not important work for the sake of feeling busy.

C. This is the secret sauce- Do hourly goal check ins. YES set your phone to alarm every hour and check in on yourself. Take 3 minutes to evaluate:

What have I accomplished 

How has it pushed me towards my goals 

Have I wasted any time and effort 

What needs to be improved.

One Love

Danni

Lessons Learned From a One Year Old

 Winners never quit and quitters never win. In other words keep working on that craft, keep setting those goals, keep pushing forward, keep following through but most importantly, NEVER QUIT!!!!.

I watched my one year old as she climbed on the couch and fell backwards hitting her back on the ground. She cried a little as I assisted her in getting up but to my amazement she went right back to climbing up the couch. 

The beauty of children is just how fearless they are especially when they are little. At a young age the word impossible is not apart of their level of understanding. Fear and doubt in self is learned behavior. 

As a sales woman I have learned that people who tell you no usually become your best customers, so keep trying. 

What would you accomplish if you did not fear getting your feelings hurt? What would you accomplish if you knew for sure you would be successful? Stop doubting yourself, step out in confidence and go live your dream.

For my christian friends God never gave us a spirit of fear. Its in the bible go read it.

One Love

Danni

Checking In

 Earlier this week I watched a video interview of someone I went to college with. During that interview she shared the experiences she had as a child growing up. Experiences that would break anyone much less a young girl. I was surprised because seeing her from day to day she did not wear or show her experiences. 

Its covid time and for me the heaviness of the virus is taking its toll on me emotionally. If you know me, I'm always Ms. Positivity so that may seem hard for many of my close friends to believe. In a sense this blog is my Thursday night therapy. It helps me navigate the thoughts in my head. 

Now is the time to create a habit of checking in. Socially distancing and physical separation can affect us and our loved ones psychologically. Do not assume others are ok, do not assume being friends on social media means you are up to date with what's going on in peoples lives. Spend time reaching out, take the time to do a wellness check. 

You may never know the impact staying in touch may have.

This may not be a pumped up motivational blog, but I hope it inspires you to reach out to someone you haven't seen or spoken to in a while. 

One Love 

Danni

Keep Working On Those Goals

 Setting goals are easy and writing them down is also easy, what is hard is actually following through with the goals we have set. 

It is the beginning of February, do your goals still make you feel warm and fuzzy inside like they did in early January? Here are a few techniques to help you stay in winning mode.

Set micro goals- Many of us set out to accomplish large goals that may sound great in the beginning until we begin working on them. Usually a few weeks in and we are ready to throw in the towel. When we focus on micro goals it is easy  to see the results.

Celebrate the small wins- have a reward system in place and highlight your accomplishments no matter how small. 

Begin with the end goal in mind- Set a reminder in an area that allows you to see the reason for your goal. This reminds you of your why when you feel like giving up.

Forgive Yourself for Stopping- Taking a break from your goal can bring on negative feelings of doubt and lack of trust in ourselves. It is important to forgive ourselves for the temporary stops that we make on the way to accomplishing our goals.

Start Again- As the old proverb says, it is never too late for a shower of rain. If you took a pause, do not be afraid to get back up and start working on our goals again. 

Remember, totally giving up on a goal you have set and want to accomplish will leave you loosing faith and trust in yourself. If you have stopped working on your goal, restart as if it's a brand new year.

One Love

Danni

One Love 

Danni

MAMBA MINDSET

 One thing I love about professional sports is watching people who have put their absolute best into their craft and compete against each other. I am not the most competitive person, but it may be a quality I should encourage.

It's been a year since we lost Kobe. I have to admit I love the mamba state of mind. Yes Kobe was talented, but not the most talented, yes Kobe was gifted in basketball, but not the most gifted. What separated Kobe was his ridiculous none stop drive to be his absolute best. He would never be outworked. It was that mindset, that mentality, that energy, that persistence that drove his success to dominate the courts.

The next time you watch basket ball or the superbowl, or any sports event for that matter, do not watch it just for entertainment. Watch it with a desire to take some of the habits that creates the best.

One Love

Danni