Two Steps Forward

I woke to rabbit tracks in my yard and saw a deer out early munching some grass she'd found underneath the snow.  It's amazing when you get moving before other people at the things you will see, things that will be missed if you wait until there are other human footprints tracking everywhere.

With a fresh slate, you get to create the path, make the impression, define the direction.

Use your new year to be the first one to take two steps forward.

Heather M. Hilliard is Principal and Chief Strategist for R. Roan Enterprises, LLC, a professional services consulting firm supporting businesses in pointed areas of expertise as well as with individuals for targeted projects or career development. For more articles like these, visit her posts on LinkedIn or on G+. 

#seizetheday, #makeithappen

Add $2500 to Your Wallet

You’ve heard the saying “put your money where your mouth is” — it’s true.  

Food is fuel, energy to literally get moving. Sometimes research is too general, but this one shows you the present and future savings is on average $2500 a year. The sooner you start moving, the greater your future investment will be.

Learn not only how to improve your mind or your productivity, but also your wallet. 

Start at the beginning - it makes the journey that much easier.

Heather M. Hilliard is Principal and Chief Strategist for R. Roan Enterprises, LLC, a professional services consulting firm supporting businesses in pointed areas of expertise as well as with individuals for targeted projects or career development. For more articles like these, visit her posts on LinkedIn or on G+. 

#seizetheday, #makeithappen

The New Groundhog Day

Just 20 days ago, I reminded readers that we were getting an extra second this year. Today, main-stream-media is reminding the world again.

We really need to make use of the gifts given to us this holiday season - whether they are big or small. Adages of ‘use your time wisely’ mean so much more when you literally have more time. 

Set your goals and lead the way - even if it means taking off in a new direction.

“If you want to know the value of one year, just ask a student who failed a course. 

If you want to know the value of one month, ask a mother who gave birth to a premature baby. 

If you want to know the value of one hour, ask the lovers waiting to meet. 

If you want to know the value of one minute, ask the person who just missed the bus. 

If you want to know the value of one second, ask the person who just escaped death in a car accident. 

And if you want to know the value of one-hundredth of a second, ask the athlete who won a silver medal in the Olympics.” 

- Marc Levy, Et si c'était vrai..., Vous revoir, édition complète 2 en 1

Heather M. Hilliard is Principal and Chief Strategist for R. Roan Enterprises, LLC, a professional services consulting firm supporting businesses in pointed areas of expertise as well as with individuals for targeted projects or career development. For more articles like these, visit her posts on LinkedIn or on G+. 

#seizetheday, #makeithappen

15 Ways to Increase Your Productivity Right Now

Improve each day through New Year’s Eve to identify your resolution (if you haven’t finished planning your revolution). 

1.  Keep your goals in front of you. If you keep your larger “weight” in front of you, you focus on what’s ahead (instead of the weight that you carry on your back).

2.  Feedback is best when it looks at the future. Solutions to solve problems are far better than complaining in order to reinvent the wheel.

3.  Make time for the right things. Get rid of bad habits or time-wasting activities so your energies are used for productive purposes.

4.  Build better foundations. Lift yourself and others higher to see farther on the horizon at what’s possible (rather than using blocks to protect your turf).

5.  Tools make things easier. By selecting the right choices to streamline various aspects of your life, you simplify and reduce stress.

6.  Be mindful in discussions. When you listen for clues about others’ moods and show attentiveness, you discover what people aren’t saying.

7.  Reduce distractions. You gain power by retaking control over little things (like too many coupon emails), so you own your focus.

8.  Accept that reassessments are healthy. By adjusting as you progress, you make sure that you are capturing the strong winds that move you forward faster.

9.  Get involved with something bigger than yourself. Show your gratitude for what you have by giving back to others.

10. Realize what you don’t know and go learn something. Refreshing our learning skills makes it easier to adapt and overcome when obstacles rise in our paths.

11. Take time to just drink your coffee. Your mind needs quiet time, so sit down, unplug and pause in order to help strengthen focus for the next task.

12. Green is good. Greenery is the color for 2017; make sure you bring not only plants but also green habits into your home to be on trend as well as improving the world.

13. Say what you mean. With finesse and kindness, you’ll find being articulate and authentic will be a better strategy than any SEO plan.

14. Train your brain. Make information mean something when you digest or express— it helps you and everyone around you, too.

15. Practice what brings you peace. By making time weekly for what brings your soul contentment just for its own sake, you’ll be healthier and happier. 

Heather M. Hilliard is Principal and Chief Strategist for R. Roan Enterprises, LLC, a professional services consulting firm supporting businesses in pointed areas of expertise as well as with individuals for targeted projects or career development. For more articles like these, visit her posts on LinkedIn or on G+. 

#seizetheday, #makeithappen

Five Ways Time Can Be On Your Side

The days are about to get longer - records of lunar and solar eclipses for 2,700 years were tallied and we've gotten an additional seven hours in our lives in the past two dozen centuries.

You can imagine all of the things that are possible with that much time, but you know that all of that time isn't just for us right now. So what is this phenomenon really telling us?

A scientist at Scripps Institution of Oceanography notes that there is time and then there's how fast the Earth spins. This latter component, called Universal Time, proceeds and nothing you can do will change it... just like you can't change other people, the way someone works, or how other folks set priorities.

However, Terrestrial Time has only been measured by atomic clocks for a little over 50 years. There are many examples about what can be accomplished in "time comparisons." But this, too, has been modified by natural events, such as NASA showing how an earthquake recently moved the Earth's axis and shifted time. 

This year, these two kinds of time will actually be realigned and extra second will forever be added on New Year's Eve because time on the planet is out of sync.

If you feel you don't control your own time - be it through a manager's assignment or the kids' multiple activities - you don't need an international society to tell you to adjust your pace. Things occur in your life where you naturally realize you need to move your axis.

You can make shifts in your life to simplify in order to use your "real time" more wisely.

1. Realize multi-tasking doesn't work; it just wastes time. Set yourself discrete blocks of time to accomplish parts of tasks or entire projects that you know matter most. 
2. Prepare for your meetings in order to use time wisely. On calls or during face-to-face meetings, take five minutes before the discussion to pinpoint what progress means for that event. 
3. Respect the time limits you've established. Working on a specific schedule allows your brain to have a fresh mindset instead of "pushing through" and making mistakes. 
4. Effectively use waiting time. Short "vision" work is possible when you've organized your projects to reduce interruptions, so write that text while waiting on the next event. 
5. Eliminate waste. Just like you empty the fridge from expired products, your life is full of them, too, and thus anything (from stagnant relationships to lagging ideas) either need recharged or removed. 

You can take back your time. It's a great idea for starting in the next few weeks when you gain "real time" as well as Universal Time.  

Heather M. Hilliard is Principal and Chief Strategist for R. Roan Enterprises, LLC, a professional services consulting firm supporting businesses in pointed areas of expertise as well as with individuals for targeted projects or career development. For more articles like these, visit her posts on LinkedIn or on G+. 

#seizetheday, #makeithappen

Make It Yours

When you declare something, you are justifying a truth to yourself and those around you. I recently wrote an article that began with a powerful quote: Speak the Truth, even if your voice shakes. 

The spoken word holds just as much bond as one in writing (in some states, it still qualifies as a “word is a bond” on which contracts can be made). When you speak your plans, you give them the freedom to take flight. They can be simple personal statements or life-improving visions.

Yet if you only hold these dreams in your head, you don’t easily make progress. You need to believe what’s in your head as it takes hold of your heart, so you can declare and get going!

Maybe you’ve been accused of just digging a hole for yourself. But, some guys in Europe thought for years about digging a hole — if they never started, they wouldn’t have drilled open the connection between Britain and Europe in the Chunnel just after 11 a.m. today in 1990.

Perhaps you like to build replicas and devote a lot of time to a hobby. If a man that preferred to tinker with things rather than deal with people hadn’t have started telling people about his dream and working towards it, on this day in 1913, Henry Ford’s assembly line would not have started rolling, fueling a new era for the industrial revolution.

Possibly you’ve thought there’s too much chatter and disconnected from “the grid” on occasions.  Well yes, you can make a declaration without words, particularly if you refuse to leave your seat and move to the back of the bus, just as Rosa Parks did December 1, 1955.

It was two weeks ago that I pointed out you had 40 days to make a plan with five steps to create your best revolution ever.  The countdown has reached 30 days.

• Write down where you want to be by this time next year, meaning you have thoughtfully focused your dream into an actionable goal.  Put this vision statement someplace you’ll see it every day so that you are positively inspired with forward momentum.

• Speak your truth to someone you trust, who will keep you on the path with encouragement and perhaps articles or words of enlightenment that keep your motivated.

• Begin taking your vision and start planning how you will reach it.  This gets you through the third step of your Revolution, and you have a month to complete the last three phases.

The bald eagle in the photo is utterly focused, moving directly toward the prize. You can’t get ahead if you don’t get started. Why are you waiting? 

Heather M. Hilliard is Principal and Chief Strategist for R. Roan Enterprises, LLC, a professional services consulting firm supporting businesses in pointed areas of expertise as well as with individuals for targeted projects or career development. For more articles like these, visit her posts on LinkedIn or on G+. 

#seizetheday, #makeithappen