The Sizzling Story

The scorching summer heat in Phoenix, AZ can be absolutely miserable. Everywhere you go you hear people complaining and rearranging their whole life around the temperature.

Well several years ago when I moved here from 70-degree, year-round San Diego, Calif., I had to start practicing what I was preaching. I thought about all those years I lived in Denver, Colo. and never thought much about the cold and snow. So why was I letting the heat rule my life now? I made a decision back then to change forever my thoughts about the heat to, “I will not let the weather disturb me in anyway.”

I realized the power of my thoughts and what I had really done on a summer afternoon a couple of weeks later. I caught myself standing in the sun talking to a client for about 20 minutes. When I got in the car and turned on the radio the announcer said the current temperature was 114 degrees. What fascinated me was I never noticed the temperature.
I am sure there are others — landscapers, construction workers, and joggers – here in Phoenix who know the secret to tolerating the heat. I am proud to be one of them.

To find out more about the power of thought contact Vickie Champion for a complimentary coaching and consulting session.

There are Three Ways to Motivate Yourself and Your Employees. You can be…

1 Motivated by Fear

This is the ability to prompt yourself or your staff to action because you fear what will happen if you don’t.

2 Motivated by Profit

Profits and wealth fuel this desire by you and your staff.

3 Motivated by Purpose

You and your staff are motivated because you believe what you’re doing matters and you want to get better at it.

There are appropriate times to use all three. The key is to know what each method can accomplish and when to use it effectively. Watch for my future blogs to understand each method in detail.

Other related quiz and blogs by Vickie Champion you might be interested in are:

How Ready Are You to Get Your Dreams?

The Many Disadvantages of Being an Entrepreneur

or check out the entire Running a Business section.

You can also contact Vickie Champion for a complimentary coaching and consulting session.

Buying Before we Need it

If we buy before we need it, there is a good chance we have a lack or fear mentality. An example of this would be a business buying a piece of equipment before offering the service to any of their clients. Or running to the grocery store and buying extra groceries for your visitors before finding out what they like to eat.

Ask yourself these questions first…

• Am I afraid I won’t be able to find it when I really do need it?
• Am I afraid I won’t be able to get it on sale?
• Am I afraid I won’t find the brand, style, color, etc. I like?
• Am I afraid I will run out?
• Am I afraid what others will think if I don’t?

Whenever we buy in a lack or fear mentality, there is an extremely good chance we wasted the money. We will rarely use the item, eventually give it away, sell it or throw it out.

Other related quizzes and articles by Vickie Champion you might be interested in are:

Quiz-Do You Need to Change Your Relationship with Money?

Five Eye-Opening Facts You Need to Know About Impulse Buying

Nickel and Diming Your Money Away

or check out the entire About Money section.

You can also contact Vickie Champion for a complimentary coaching and consulting session.

Whether you’re on your first date or have been dating for some time, one of the easiest ways to detect a great relationship is to pay attention to the flow. Below are some simple ways to know if you’re heading for a difficult, ho-hum or disastrous relationship.

12 Signs Your Date is NOT Perfect for You:

When you…

1    Often play phone tag.

2    Notice your date doesn’t want to know more about you.

3    Observe there is no flow to the conversation. At times you have nothing to say or talk about.

4    Have difficulty getting on the same page, which leads to little misunderstandings.

5    Avoid discussing certain subjects, like having kids. Or you find yourself telling little white lies because you’re afraid of the response.

6    Are concerned about what your date will think of you if you tell the truth and are yourself.

7    Can’t get yourself to bring up certain questions.

8    Have a hard time getting your date to answer your questions.

9    Find your date getting upset when something changes or isn’t flexible.

10 Or your date forgets the details about your next get together.

11 Have an uncomfortable feeling inside when he or she compliments you.

12 Don’t feel good inside anytime during or right after the date.

As a life coach, I’ve noticed if you observe some of these “intuitive” signs, there is no way you can change yourself or your date to make it work. No matter how hard you try, the relationship is what it is. Essentially, you’re not listening to your “intuition” and you are trying to “make do” with someone other than your perfect date. Your perfect date, by the way, is still waiting for you while you’re ignoring your intuition! So keep looking! You will save a lot of headaches and time if you do.

Other related quizzes, articles and blogs by Vickie Champion you might be interested in are:

Quiz-How Often do You Listen to Your Intuition?

All About Being in the Flow

Events Flow Easily When we Listen to Our Intuition

or check out the entire About Intuition section.

You can also contact Vickie Champion for a complimentary coaching and consulting session.

Signs we’re ready to get answers and end our problems with money are when we are willing to…

1  Listen and learn from others how to get out of debt, save more, invest wisely, and earn more money.

2  Treat our relationship with money with the same respect as any other relationship and stop saying “it’s not that important.”

3  Redefine the word “budget” from a form of discipline to a “spending plan,” a tool that gives us more choices and control over how to use our money.

4 Stop complaining about our money problems and start talking about our dreams.

5 Start taking action!

Other related quizzes and articles by Vickie Champion you might be interested in are:

Quiz-Do You Need to Change Your Relationship with Money?

The Miracle Cure for Money Issues

or check out the entire About Money section.

You can also contact Vickie Champion for a complimentary coaching and consulting session.

A few years ago, The Arizona Republic (the biggest newspaper in the Phoenix metro area) did a page and a half article on me and my work. It was called “Help for the Financially Spent.” The article had illustrations, photos, testimonials, sidebars, and a quiz.

When you got publicity like that back then, they said flood gates would open and people would fly in. Well, I got only about 25 calls from it. And even though everyone confessed they had a problem and promised to come to one of my many money classes, only two ever showed up.

I admit I avoided my own issues with money in the past, and for the last ten years, I have coached countless clients through some sort of problem with money. In all this time, I have come to the surprising realization that most people just don’t want the answers to their money issues – they would rather keep dealing with the problem.

Signs You Want to Keep Your Problem with Money are When You…

1  Avoid thinking about it, justifying to yourself  “ Tomorrow will be better.”

2  Think sleepless nights, the dread of opening bills, or being afraid of asking for a raise are normal.

3  Use your money problems as a topic of conversation year after year.

4  Tell yourself and everyone else you’re going to change things, but never seem to get around to it.

5  Catch yourself constantly putting out fires around money issues.

6  Are jealous of other people’s financial situations.

So why are people so reluctant to get the answers? Why would they rather continue to cope with financial stress? Well, have you ever heard the saying “When you do the same thing over and over, why would you expect different results?” As long as we keep the same thoughts and behaviors, we’ll keep having money issues. It’s that simple. When we decide to change our thoughts and behaviors, we’ll get the answers to all our financial problems.

It’s that simple. When we decide to change our thoughts and behaviors, we’ll get the answers to all our financial problems.

Other related quizzes and articles by Vickie Champion you might be interested in are:

Quiz-Do You Need to Change Your Relationship with Money?

The Miracle Cure for Money Issues

or check out the entire About Money section.

You can also contact Vickie Champion for a complimentary coaching and consulting session.

Or are you person B? The Bad Mouther? You spend a lot of your time thinking about what that person said or did, and, in fact, bad mouthing them to anyone who will listen?

Here are Some More Signs we Really Need to Improve a Relationship…

When we…

• Are scared to tell that person the truth.
• Have verbal arguments.
• Find ourselves judging that person and telling others.
• Go over and over in our minds what we need to do about a situation and how that person will react to it.
• Think it’s easier to give in than irritate that person.
• Pay little attention, if any, to how we’re feeling about the situation.
• Say yes to that person when we really want to say no.
• Depend on the relationship to be successful.
• Start taking that person for granted.
• Notice that person is either avoiding or scared of us.

By taking the time to improve our difficult relationships we can become person C, the Choice maker. It’s up to us, we can continue our difficult  relationship with that person or choose instead to improve it and benefit from it.

Other related articles and blogs by Vickie Champion you might be interested in are:

Why we Wouldn’t Want to Improve a Business Relationship

or check out the entire About Life section.

You can also contact Vickie Champion for a complimentary coaching and consulting session.

Here’s Some of the Advantages of Being Defensive at Work…

We can…

• Avoid changing our mindset or behaviors.
• Pretend it makes us a strong leader.
• Hide our doubts and the fear of losing control.
• Take full advantage of using excuses.
• Camouflage our oversensitivity.
• Keep ourselves busy constantly defending our position.
• Save time by not being open to other options or the actual facts.
• Think we are being unfairly treated and our defense will save us.
• Use it as a way to attack others’ suggestions.
• Stay away from getting to neutral and listening to our intuition or gut instincts.
• Focus our attention on being right instead of being successful.
• Stops wasting time and money with research and development.
• Confuse being defensive with being passionate about our work.
• Avoid being a better worker or having a better company.

So what are you defending at work? Maybe it’s a procedure or system or your expertise in that area. Perhaps it’s a boss, customer or co-worker. Or it might be like me, a marketing strategy.

If you are ready to stop being defensive, contact Vickie Champion or call her at 480-838-9866 PST  for a complimentary coaching and consulting session.

This blog is for those of you exploring other ways to live, like I did several years ago.

Here Are Some Benefits of Ignoring Your Intuition:

You…

• Need not worry about how to fill your time because you stay so unbelievably busy struggling to accomplish everything.
• Get lots of alone time because you are unpleasant to be around.
• Live a life full of adrenaline rushes because things with you are a matter of life or death.
• Don’t have to take responsibility for anything because you can find someone or something to blame for the situation.
• Don’t have to waste time and money pursuing your dreams because you don’t know what they are.
• Get your exercise by tossing and turning in bed at night.
• Connect with others by getting them to take your side.
• Can hold onto addictions and bad habits as an excuse to relieve stress.
• Inflate your self-esteem by constantly one upping everyone else.
• Have a good reason to spend hours on end on Facebook, in front of the TV, or tweeting every move you make.
• Get plenty of attention by focusing the conversations on your problems.
• Earn your reputation for being a very disciplined person by forcing yourself to do things you hate to do.
• Save lots of energy, money and time because you are afraid of change.

If you identify with some of these points, know that there is an easier, more successful way to live if you choose. Trusting your intuition or gut instincts can free you from the unnecessary hardships, struggle, and give you the knowledge that nothing is impossible.

Other related articles and blogs by Vickie Champion you might be interested in are:

Benefits of Using Your Intuition

Signs We are Feeling Unsafe

How to Feel Safe in These Crazy Times

How to Feel Safe During Uncertainty

Defining Intuition

Great Ways to Awaken Your Intuition

Signs We’re Releasing Fear

Signs we Might be in Fear

9 Ways to Get Rid of Fear

38 Ways Fear Can Harm Us

or check out the entire About Intuition section.

You can also contact Vickie Champion for a complimentary coaching and consulting session.

I advise them that now the best way is to increase their website traffic and convert them into clients. They tell me over and over, “I just don’t know where to start, nor do I have the time or desire to learn how to do it!”

So for some of my current coaching clients, I act as their Internet Marketing Manager, helping them attract clients by improving their online marketing campaigns.  Now seems like the right time to introduce this new aspect of my business.

What is an Internet Marketing Manager?

As your Internet Marketing Manager I will implement your online marketing plan.  That means taking care of all the details to improve your website and social media strategy.

How it works:

1. We start with a coaching session to develop or clarify your vision. Then, we will break your goals into simple changes that can get you quick results.
2. I implement your improvements, working with my internet marketing team to make changes.
3. As you focus on your now growing business, I continue to manage the ongoing website operations that attract clients and increase your exposure.

Wow, this is just what I need!

Some people have asked me why I am adding this focus to my business.  The answer is simple:  If solopreneurs don’t continue to improve their website and online marketing they will have a harder and harder time finding clients.

In the last four years I have learned so much about the process and have a great team in place to advise and implement my online marketing. I want to share it with my clients to help them in their business too.

As always, I am listening to and trusting my intuition and right now that tells me this is the right thing to do.  If your intuition tells you to work on your website, please call me today, 480-838-9866.