K.I.T.A. Magazine August 2013

K.I.T.A. August 2013

Your Bi-Monthly “Kick In The Ass”!

Seize Your Sizzle!!

Take steps to get finally get out of your rut.

Say No to Negativity

Banish negative attitudes (and people) forever.

Can You Be Super Successful?

Five traits to emulate.

Why You Should Never Wait To Follow Your Dreams

Gain the confidence you need to seek the life you desire

Ignite The Flames Of Your Passion Get fired up with this month’s affirmation.

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From the Editor: So Long Summer :-(

Sometimes a change in perspective and scenery can make all the difference. Taking time to stop and smell the roses - just enjoying the moment - might be all you need to find your inspiration!

Well, it’s August and we are already preparing to say goodbye to Summer. Here in Atlanta, we haven’t had much of a summer. It has rained nearly every day and with the rain, has come many dreary days. With all of the clouds, it has been easy to lose motivation and lose inspiration.

Don’t forget to let me know if there are particular stories or topics that you would like to see featured in the magazine! I would love your feedback. Send your ideas and comments to KITAMAG@goldenparachutes.com.

If you don't feel inspired, the good news is that you can change the way you look at things and, in doing so, you'll welcome more inspiration into your life. While others can bring you happiness at times, true joy must come from within. Inspiration is often the same. If you aren't sure how to look for inspiration, consider:

Enjoy the rest of your summer!

Monique

• Going somewhere that you haven't been before to get a different perspective.

Head Career Strategist, Golden Parachutes http://www.golden-parachutes.com

• Looking at something you see every day in a different way or from a different angle.

• Closing your eyes and seeking inspiration in the sounds and smells around you.

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Featured Articles

Stop Settling and Start Sizzling

The Perils of Negativity

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Five Traits of Super Successful People

Never Wait Until “Later” to Follow Your Dreams

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Stop Settling and Start Sizzling!

Are you stuck in a rut or bored with your life and the same routine day after day? If so, you can't be happy like this!

There's an exciting world out there with a lot to offer.

Deep down you know you want to get out and take a big bite of it. Sure, it may be a bit overwhelming, and even scary at times, but you can't let your life just pass you by.

It's time to live those dreams, take a leap of faith, and get out of your comfort zone! But how do you get started?

1. Decide what you want to do. Put your fears aside and step outside of your comfort zone. If you could do anything without fear, money, or time being an issue, what would you choose?

Make a list of everything you would like to accomplish someday. It doesn't matter how crazy or outrageous you may think it is, just write it down.

It also doesn't matter if your list has three or thirtythree things listed. Just search your heart and your mind and write down what you would really like to do.

2. Faith. It's important to have faith to see your journey until the end, yet this may be one of the hardest qualities to develop. Remember how it feels to be stuck where you are with no excitement and no

real purpose. You know things can be better than they are now, but how?

All you need to do is believe in yourself. You know that countless people before you have lived their dreams, so why not you? What makes them so different?

There really is no difference between you and others, except for the belief in the possibility for great success.

You can be just like they are; you just have to believe you can do it!

3. Don't keep it a secret. If you're ashamed of how you're feeling, you shouldn't be. Many people find themselves in the same predicament. The only thing that should embarrass you is if you intentionally decide to stay in that rut! Do yourself a big favor and open up to someone you trust.

Whether that's a parent, spouse, or best friend, tell them that you're ready to make a change in your life and they'll be able support you throughout your journey. They'll encourage you on the good days and cry with you on the bad days.

Most importantly, they'll be there to support you throughout it all. It's just what you need to achieve great success!

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Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds you plant. - Robert Louis Stevenson

4. Take the first step. It's time to take that first leap of faith. As much as you want to step outside the box and get out of this rut, nothing will happen without taking that first big step.

No matter how frightening you may be, you need to focus on the big picture and the pot of gold at the end of that rainbow. Muster up all the encouragement and support you can find and just do it. Once the first step is accomplished, it gets easier!

You deserve to be the best that you can possibly be, and deep down inside you know this. You'll be so glad you took action - and you'll be so proud of yourself when you celebrate at the finish line!

No one enjoys being in a rut and just going through the motions of life. Don't let your fears hold you back.

After all, this is a wonderful world that you deserve to enjoy to the fullest!

Go out and experience everything life has to offer. Take that first leap of faith and you'll never look back again!

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The Perils of Negativity and How to Overcome It Unfortunately negativity can take over your life without you really knowing it. It's perfectly normal to be in a bad mood every now and then, but sometimes you'll be so overwhelmingly negative that it'll get in the way of reaching your goals.

1. Self-talk. You're constantly telling yourself things throughout the day. You're forming opinions, deciding what to do, and determining your self-worth. You can start correcting the way you think by paying close attention to your self-talk

Having a negative attitude hurts the people around you. Perhaps more importantly, it hurts you. When you determine the underlying cause of your negative attitude and take action to turn it around, you can begin a journey to the positive side of thinking.

2. When you're in the bathroom in the morning getting ready to go out and face the world, what are you telling yourself? Are you thinking about how much you're going to accomplish today? Or are you getting yourself ready for failure? Take the positive route and your day will surely be better.

Your goals and dreams for your life are a wonderful possibility. It may be a difficult journey to get there, but it's certainly possible if you adopt a positive attitude and take concerted action to make them happen.

3. Look for the silver lining. The silver lining is always there waiting for you to discover it.

When the chips are down, it's especially easy to just wallow in negative energy. Know that you have the power to find that one small positive light among all the negativity.

When you're negative, however, the game stops in its tracks. You're basically saying that you can't or don't think you can reach your goal, so you don't even bother trying. Of course you'll never reach your goal if you don't try!

4. Use daily affirmations. Affirmations can combat negativity as soon as the negative thought arrives in your head. Repeat positive affirmations to yourself daily, or post them in a place where you can see them often.

Remember just how powerful your mind is.

When you continuously feed your mind with positivity, you can't help but to become more positive.

Strategies To Overcome Negativity It doesn't matter what the degree of your negativity is, you can take steps to get yourself out of that black hole. It's not too late to turn your life around. Even if you've had negative attitudes throughout your lifetime, you can still change your manner of thinking.

5. Reduce stress. Negativity has a tendency to arise out of stressful situations. If you lead a high stress life, then these stressful situations may become the norm for you. Your best bet

Consider some of the following strategies for overcoming negativity:

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is to find a way to get out of too many stressful situations, or at least study ways to better deal with the stress.

6. Give yourself time to think. Instead of letting yourself get carried away with a negative situation, choose to give yourself time to think before speaking your mind. Then you can act wisely, instead of reacting negatively.

Use these strategies each day to help you overcome negativity and build a positive attitude. Soon you'll reap the rewards of a boosted confidence, a stronger self-esteem, and an intense passion!

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Personal Reflection: My internal flame grows stronger each day I pursue my passion.

I am filled with resolve to achieve my dreams. The more focused I am, the more determined I become.

The passion inside of me consumes me like a fiery blaze. The winds of life are but mere fuel for my fire. DiďŹƒcult situations only help me grow stronger and wiser be-

cause my determination of my days doing what I is unwavering. love to do. No one else can take my place in My fire is enkindled by this world; therefore I my dreams. I revisit my must pursue my pasgoals constantly in orsion in order to share der to keep them in my unique abilities with sight. My vision is writ- the world. ten down so I can plainly see the direction Every day, I seek to imin which I am headed. prove my talents and gifts in order to become I get excited when I the best at what I do. I think about spending all brainstorm new and

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the peace and confidence that comes from knowing my purpose.

Today, I choose to give my all to the pursuit of my passion and enjoy the feeling of satisfaction.

fresh ideas that will bring me closer to achieving my goals.

My passion is a part of who I am and I am confident that I am living out the purpose for which I was created. Pursuing my calling is as natural to me as breathing.

Self-Reflection Questions: 1. How do I pursue my passion?

Knowing my purpose helps me shine brighter each day. The smile I wear on my lips is evidence of

2. How do I feel about my calling?

3. What is my driving force?

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Bored at Work? There Is a Way to Make Your Dream Career a Reality!

Everyone possesses unique talents and gifts that they are obligated to share with the world. Anything less would be downright selfish! You are drawn towards certain passions and careers for a reason – they are the voice of your soul. What you need to know is that you CAN get paid for doing what you love.

The key to making this all work is a great plan. If you are currently working, you need a transition plan that takes you from where you are to where you want to be. And if you’re not working, you need a plan to put your dreams into action.

Take the first step today towards your dream job.

Contact Monique Eddleton, CEO of Golden Parachutes, for information her life-changing career services. You owe it to yourself to do it today!

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Five Traits of Super Successful People On your journey to achieve your goals, you'll invariably have to deal with challenges, and even setbacks, from time to time. Every successful person faces some hardship along the way. However, it's important to remember that those with the drive to succeed will stop at nothing until they achieve their success.

Here are the top five super success traits, along with tips to help you acquire them: 1. Strong beliefs in yourself and what you're doing. Put your whole heart into your endeavors and truly believe that you can succeed in what you set out to accomplish. If you run into a snag in the road, find something positive you can learn from the situation and use that to keep moving forward. If necessary, develop a new plan to overcome the challenge.

2. Being organized and having clear plans. Successful people are organized. They know what they want and how they're going to get there. They develop clear goals with specific action steps to achieve them.

Plus, they know where they are on that road to success at all times. What do you want? How are you going to get there? Make a detailed plan of achievable action steps that will take you all the way through accomplishing your goal. Then follow your plan. It's your map to success.

3. Perseverance. Sometimes the difference between success and failure is pure perseverance. There will be times when you're faced with difficult challenges. You may even feel like giving up. However, it's important to find the strength within you to pull yourself through, even in these tough times. In order to develop perseverance, reflect on how you normally handle conflicts in life. Do you give up easily when faced with a challenge? Think of those times you gave up. What could you have done differently to encourage yourself to keep going?

4. The drive to keep learning and achieving. Super successful people realize that they're always students.

They may be a master of a certain subject, but there's always something new they can develop or learn.

Once they achieve one goal, then they use their current knowledge to help them learn something else that brings them even more success.

5. No fear of failure. The super successful don't waste their time worrying about failure. They know that everyone must take certain risks if they're going to achieve success and that some ideas might not work out. You only fail if you give up or decide not to try at all. If you're still trying, then you haven't failed!

To attain the life of the super successful, the most important thing to remember is to always give your all.

Adopt these success traits as your own, and soon you'll find that nothing can stop you from achieving your goals!

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I’ve learned that you can’t have everything and do everything at the same time. - Oprah Winfrey

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Create a Better Work-Life Balance and Get Your Life Back Do you feel like you're so busy that you don't have time for a life? Do you feel as if you're constantly running behind?

Schedule an afternoon to finish those pesky tasks so you can move on to more interesting (or even fun!) things.

There are ways you can learn to negotiate your work life so you become more productive.

Share The Work. You don't have to do everything! Recruit some help from your fellow employees or family members.

Implement Technology. Use technology to your advantage. A small time investment in entering information, such as addresses and other contact information, into a computer system can save volumes of time later.

Simplify. Don't make things complicated. As humans, we tend to make extra work for ourselves even if it's unnecessary.

Once you've implemented a system, it's much easier to make changes to information and stay current. It also makes it easier to keep up with detailed customer information.

How can you be more productive?

What can you do to improve the quality of your life?

De-clutter. Streamlining your workspace helps you focus on your work.

Eliminate Distractions. If your personal life interferes with your job, set some boundaries. Be firm when you have work to finish.

Here are a few ideas to find worklife balance:

Arrange your desk so you can reach what you need the moment you need it. Sifting through multiple piles costs you valuable time, causes frustration, and can even prevent you from completing important tasks!

Once you become more organized at work, you can more fully enjoy your time away from work as well. If you're not stressing about your job, you can relax when you're at home and live a more balanced life.

Slow Down. If you're feeling overwhelmed and it seems like you're running in circles, sometimes the best thing you can do is to slow down.

Take the time to prioritize. Going faster doesn't mean you're more productive or that you accomplish more things. Doing things right the first time will save time in the long run.

Stop Procrastinating. There are certain things about any job that are mundane. If you take the time to do the tedious parts of your job, you can breathe a sigh of relief sooner.

Learn To Say No. When your workload is maxed out, be assertive about saying no. Help your boss understand that your plate is full and you're not being insubordinate.

Stay within your scheduled hours.

Once you've learned to keep work from cutting into your personal time, you will become more empowered to enjoy life outside the office walls.

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Leave your cell phone in the car or switch it off during work hours.

Discourage frequent personal calls or visits.

Delay socializing with coworkers until your work is done.

Once you've learned to streamline your workday, you'll find that you no longer dread going to work and bringing it all home! Imagine knowing that you're ready to start your day instead of playing catch up from yesterday.

Act

 Now!

 Why

 You

 Should

 Never

 Wait

 Until

 “Later�

 to

 Follow

 Your

 Dreams Sometimes you feel like you've got all the time in the world to accomplish your dreams. Yet there are reminders every day that our time on Earth is short. Unfortunately, there's no way to predict how much time you've got left, which is exactly why there's no time like the present to make your dreams come true!

Concentrate On The Positive It's vital to start with positive thoughts. When you think positively about yourself and your dreams, you'll begin to believe that you can achieve anything. These initial positive emotions can lead to a dedicated drive and enthusiasm that'll help build lasting momentum.

Remember that nearly everyone feels overwhelmed when you're about to embark on a long journey. That's exactly why it's so easy to fall into negative patterns of thinking, but you must fight these thoughts. It can be hard to imagine that so much can be

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achieved simply by having positive thoughts, but it's true!

The truth is, when you think about something as scary as "I could die tomorrow," it's hard not to be drawn into a panic. But instead of worrying about how much time you and your loved ones have left, concentrate on making the present moment as productive as it can be towards your true calling.

Careful Planning Once you've decided to take action, and you've battled your negative thoughts, it's time to make some feasible plans to get you where you want to be.

Keep these tips in mind as you go through your planning phase: 1. Set realistic goals. If your goal is going to take years, give yourself years. You can'texpect everything to happen overnight.

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones that you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. - Mark Twain

Inspiring Others

2. Be specific. Include all the details in your plans. If you stumble along the way, you'll be comforted in knowing that you have your detailed plans to help you stay the course.

Once you've achieved your goal, consider inspiring others to reach their goals, too. Perhaps you have some friends or family members who say things like, "I've always wanted to do that," but they remain working at their dead end job.

3. Reward yourself. When you've made progress towards your goal, give yourself a reward. Even if your ultimate goal is far off, it's fun and motivating to enjoy rewards as you complete steps toward your goal.

Help them take action!

You'll know from experience that, while it may be a risk, the reward is more than worth it.

Action In Small Steps

Yes, following your dreams is even a reward in itself! It brings you joy in the present and hope for the future. So carpe diem - seize the day!

One of the biggest tips when it comes to following your dream is to break down your actions into small, manageable steps.

When you first think about these goals, it's easy to be scared of how daunting they seem. Instead of resorting to fear, try breaking down these goals into dozens or even hundreds of small steps.

Chances are that each small step is not nearly as overwhelming as the big picture.

At the same time, always keep the big picture in mind. When you visualize yourself reaching your end goal, it can be an image that gives you the drive to keep going during tough times.

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