West Sweatt, CCE
Vice President- Events and Special Projects
Birmingham Business Alliance

If you have ever experienced either situation, you need to change the way you respond to your inner dialogue.  Instead of obeying your negative commands, you can use positive self-talk to counter the negativity and overcome nearly all anxious thoughts.

 Setting Goals and Sticking to Them with Positive Self-Talk

 Are you initially filled with excitement when you first set goals for yourself? Are these thoughts then followed by self-doubt and self-defeating thoughts that stop you in your tracks before you even get started?

It can be difficult to make the most of your life when you are constantly talking yourself out of being a success.  It can be frustrating and discouraging to have these thoughts constantly plaguing you. Many of us, in fact, don’t even realize we have them! All we know is that we don’t have the confidence to stick to our plans and reach our goals.

But there’s another way!

 Positive self-talk is an effective way to set goals and ensure that you stick to them, even if you have never been able to do this before.  The way this works is that you decide what goal is important to you, and then you plan the logistics of how you are going to attain this goal.  When self-doubt starts kicking in, you will respond with affirmations that prove your success without surrendering to the negative pressure. Since you’re reading this article, it’s clear that you’re no quitter and you’re certainly not a failure, so start believing in yourself!

 Re-Programming Your Mind

 Affirmations are essentially positive statements that re-program your mind for the positive. The moment you have a self-defeating thought you’d be able to counter the negative with a motivating statement. An example of a positive affirmation is: “I am worthy of great success,” or “I see myself in the winner’s circle.”  What this does is replace negativity with thoughts that will help you move toward your goals instead of further away from them.

 Positive self-talk is easier to implement than you might think. You may not be aware of the severity of the negative dialogue currently within your mind. However, once you begin with positive self-talk, you will suddenly realize that you are self-sabotaging the goals you set for yourself from the minute that you make them. This process can open your eyes to exactly how much this inner conversation has been interfering with your life. You’ll feel hopeful that you can now set goals and surpass them.

 Through positive self-talk you will be able easily set long and short-term goals for yourself. And when you use affirmations, you’ll have accessible tools to help you push yourself further than ever before. Learning to quiet negativity with positive thoughts is a great move toward setting and attaining future goals with ease.

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To Your Success,

Dallas Teague Snider, America’s Business Etiquette Coach

www.makeyourbestimpression.com

While this unfortunate situation cost Mr. Dustin Johnson the chance for the playoff, he did the right thing by taking ownership of his mistake. When Mr. David Price, rule official approached him about the infraction and penalty, he expressed that he was unaware of the bunker and acknowledged he did not read the rules which were distributed in the locker room prior to play.

With that, he changed his score rendering him no longer in the running for the playoff.

You can read more about the details at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/16/dustin-johnson-bunker-pen_n_682820.html

What can we learn from Dustin’s situation?

First:  Always be sure to take the time to read the guidelines and rules. Regardless if you think you have seen something similar a million times, you just might be alerted to the bunker that can cost you.

Second: If you do fall victim to your own lack of attention to the rules or guidelines, take responsibility for your actions. Do not try to blame others for something that you could have avoided.

Third: Learn from your mistakes. These events give us clues and sometimes direct counsel of what to do in the future. Don’t waste this opportunity to learn and grow.

I bet Mr. Johnson will certainly be sure to read the paper in the locker room in the future. I am proud of the way he handled the situation with grace and dignity. Together we will be celebrating his future victory. He will also know that he won because he competed fairly.

My hat goes off to Mr. Dustin Johnson for teaching us all a lesson in taking personal responsibility for our own actions- on or off the golf course.

Dallas Teague Snider, America’s Business Etiquette Coach

For a FREE Audio on protecting your personal brand visit us at www.makeyourbestimpression.com/free

Here is a question for you? What makes a seasoned JetBlue flight attendant throw up his arms and just say “The heck with it all.” I am paraphrasing, of course.  It is easy to blame others for our actions.  People magazine posted this angle to the story http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20412304,00.html

This is a deeper question. What happened to civility? When did we get this disease called the Me-asles, also called rubeola, is a highly contagious respiratory infection that’s caused by a virus. They say it is rare in the United States, but I beg to differ. Maybe that is what’s wrong. Somehow we have been infected by this horrible case of the Me-asles which has causes us to be inconsiderate, self absorbed and not concerned about the how our behavior affects others.

When are we going to stand up and fight against this disease? When are we going to let others know by our actions that we do not condone or support such rude behavior.

Mr. Slater’s ex wife Susanne said flight attendants are subjected to abuse more than most people who have to deal with the public. “They are not waitresses of the sky,” she said. “They’re here to save your lives.”

Why is it we have so little respect for those that serve us?  If we treat other with respect, we will in turn receive respect.

A hospitality colleague recently shared with me a story about a situation where a guest threatened a front desk clerk because there was no room available when he arrived. He began to shout that it was a race issue making the situation even more volatile. The truth was that the hotel was sold out. Anyone that travels should understand that if you do not guarantee your room (with a credit card) your room is released by 6pm day of arrival.   This rule varies based on the hotel, so be sure to do your research before you travel.

The front desk associate contacted the police to ask them to come to avoid any possible altercation. When the police arrived, they asked the associate “What can you do to get this gentleman in the room?” He replied, “I do not have any rooms available.”  Perhaps, the policeman was just trying to confirm to the guest that in fact, there were no rooms.  Maybe the policeman thought it was a race issue.

We have been taught that if we act bad enough, yell a little louder and complain even though it is unreasonable we can get something for nothing. This is a crying shame. It has infected our country with Me-asles. This is no outside threat. This is home grown. Stop whining! Get over yourself and do something productive.

There are many people in our nation that are sitting back, shaking their heads in disbelief. We are in a cultural dilemma. When you tell yourself that rules don’t’ apply to me. I can do whatever I want to… we are digging our grave a little deeper each day.

Rules (protocol), civility and business etiquette exist for a reason.  This is the fabric of a society.  It states that I may not agree with you, but I will still treat you with respect.  We can agree to disagree.

For a FREE Special report on “Cultivating Relationships and Loyalty in Today’s Economy” and other bonuses  visit us at http://www.makeyourbestimpression.com/free

 you have the Me-alses? Perhaps you know No other way.  We cannot allow reality TV shape our society. 

 Dallas Teague Snider, America’s Business Etiquette Coach

www.makeyourbestimpression.com

You don’t want to leave money on the table, do you? When you miss opportunities it’s like leaving your cold hard cash on the table.  In fact, you are probably sabotaging your own success without even realizing it. It’s not your fault! We did not learn this is school. The good news is that these are learnable skills. Skills that will last a lifetime.

Did you know that it takes 3 to 5 seconds to make a first impression? What does your image tell others about you? Are you confident or do you appear overbearing? Are you approachable and authentic? Do people trust you easily? 

This session will provide professionals with the chance learn in a safe environment.  Others will recognize something has changed. You are different; they just don’t know what it is. It’s a sense of confidence that you’ll project when you know how to handle any situation. Having the tools to refer to time and time again, will be an investment for a lifetime. Aren’t you worth it?

Applications are being accepted now. You can log on to www.makeyourbestimpression.com and review the various bonuses you will receive if accepted into this personal intensive 2.5 day experience.

Welcome to the Executive Club, we invite you to apply today!

In January 2010, while meeting with another speaking and training colleague, we began discussing how we could work together. We spoke about the scope of our perspective businesses and soon discovered that we were both planning to create a program for schools.

We soon realized that by joining our efforts and expertise, we could create a curriculum for schools like none other.  After much discussion and much more action, Success Skills for Life™ was born.  This curriculum is perfect for high schools or workforce development programs.

The curriculum is currently available, and you can learn more at our site www.successskillsforlife.com.

If you would like to know more about how to bring this program to your school or civic organization, please reach out to us at info@successskillsforlife.com

Dallas Teague Snider, America’s Business Etiquette Coach and Impression

www.successskillsforlife.com

www.makeyourbestimpression.com

It’s the final week to get in your votes. Remember I am going for it and I need your help. I have submitted an audition to Oprah’s network to be considered for a chance to host my own show.

Please click the link below, view, vote and then forward to your contacts to join you in voting for me. Of course, any comments about the video you would like to post below that you think would be uplifting and helpful, please do that as well.

The number of views and votes add to the chances of making it to the semi-finals. I have only had mine up since Tuesday.

You can vote more than once so just vote as many times as you can.

Just click this link, view, vote and share.

http://myown.oprah.com/audition/index.html?request=add_video&entity_id=208220451

Thanks so much!

 Dallas Teague Snider

www.makeyourbestimpression.com

I am going for it and I need your help. I have submitted an audition to Oprah’s network to be considered for a chance to host my own show.

Please click the link below, view, vote and then forward to your contacts to join you in voting for me. Of course, any comments about the video you would like to post below that you think would be uplifting and helpful, please do that as well.

The number of views and votes add to the chances of making it to the semi-finals. I have only had mine up since Tuesday.

You can vote more than once so just vote as many times as you can.

Just click this link, view, vote and share.

http://myown.oprah.com/audition/index.html?request=add_video&entity_id=208220451

Together we can move mountains!

Thanks so much!

 Dallas Teague Snider

www.makeyourbestimpression.com