Stress. 

We all go through it. 

Might as well turn a negative into a positive right?

Very easy to say and hard to do. Hard to be positive when you’re mad.

I had some nasty stress a while back and got incredibly upset about it. The trouble is, when you’re stressed out, angry and upset like that, it’s all you can think about!  It consumes you. You mentally tell them off in your head over and over again. You relive the conversation over a thousand times and you think about what you should have said and what you are going to say to them when they call again. You steam about it and stress about it and you think about nothing else for hours on end.

It consumes your life!

So what to do? 

I seriously considered putting their picture on a dart board and sat at my desk and wondered how many throws it would take to get a bull’s-eye. However, since we don’t have a dart board <smile> I wrote an email to them instead. Wasn’t very long but I told them off in my note and got it all out of my system.

I didn’t send it, although I wanted to very much. Instead, I put it into my drafts file and went to bed. The very next morning I felt better and saw the situation from a completely different place, and was glad I never sent it.

The good news is that I had finally gotten them out of my system. Plus, now that they were out, it caused me to see things from a completely different perspective. I had a chance to REALLY take a look at things and finally saw the illusion of it all. Sometimes what you think you see, is not what is really there. Now I see things clearly and can finally move on from it all. The rose-colored glasses are off and the illusion is shattered. 

Now here’s the good part … if all this hadn’t happened, I would never have found this out!

My point here is that stress can be a positive thing because it can force you to stand up … look around … and then go in a different direction!  A better direction!!! If that stress hadn’t been there … would I have finally seen the clear picture? Perhaps, perhaps not … but the stress forced me to look at it and now that old “baggage” is gone.

So turn your stress into a positive!!  Look at it as a learning experience that is forcing you to take another look at what is going on. Stand up, look around, and then trust your intuition and walk in a new direction.

About the Author:  Katharine is an award-winning author and speaker and the world’s leading concierge trainer and consultant. She is one of the founders of Triangle Concierge and is the Chairman of the Board and Founder of the International Concierge and Lifestyle Management Association (ICLMA) as well as the author of several business books including her award winning book Going Above and Beyond and The Concierge Manual. She can be reached via her websites www.katharinegiovanni.com and www.triangleconcierge.com

The quickest way to become a success is to help someone else become a success.  Pass it forward!

So for those of you who don’t think that you can possibly make a difference in this world, please read the following story …

The Starfish By Loren Eisley Once upon a time there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work. One day he was walking along the shore. As he looked down the beach, he saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself to think of someone who would dance to the day. So he began to walk faster to catch up. As he got closer, he saw that it was a young man and the young man wasn’t dancing. He was reaching down to the shore, picking up something, and gently tossing it into the ocean. Approaching the young man, he called out, “Good morning! What are you doing?” The young man paused, looked up, and replied, “Throwing starfish in the ocean.” “I guess I should have asked: why are you throwing starfish in the ocean?” “The sun is up and the tide is going out, and if I don’t throw them in, they’ll die.” “But, young man, don’t you realize that there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it. You can’t possibly make a difference!” The young man listened politely. Then he bent down, picked up another starfish, and threw it into the sea past the breaking waves. He said, “It made a difference for that one.”

So yes, you can make a difference.

In my humble opinion, no one is self made. You can’t possibly become a success all by yourself because everyone needs help at some point.  Somewhere someone helped them get where they are today. It could have been a teacher, parent, friend, boss, a passing acquaintance, or even a song, book, quote or poem.

So be that person for someone else.

Pass it forward.

You CAN change the world … one person at a time.

When I need inspiration to do something, I usually turn to music. It lifts me up and gets me back to that positive place so that I can do what I need to do. I recently put together a short playlist of upbeat music that inspires me. I have it loaded onto my ipod so that I can jog to it, and I listen to it at my desk when I’m working. I have it on now as I write this. They’re all very upbeat positive “pop” tunes that are on iTunes …

1. This is your life – Switchfoot
2. Return To Innocence – Enigma
3. The Storm Is Over Now – R. Kelly
4. Man In the Mirror – Michael Jackson
5. When You Believe – Mariah Carey & Whitney Houston
6. I Believe I Can Fly – R. Kelly
7. You Get What You Give – New Radicals
8. Firework – Katy Perry
9. I Won’t Back Down – Blake Shelton & Dia Frampton
10. It Feels So Good – Steven Tyler
11. Beautiful – Christina Aguilera
12. My Wish – Rascal Flatts
13. We Believe – David Cook
14. I Gotta Feeling – Black Eyed Peas
15. The Edge of Glory – Lady Gaga
16. Don’t Give Up – Peter Gabriel
17. Good Life – One Republic
18. Ray of Light – Madonna
19. Smile – Uncle Kracker
20. No Boundaries – Adam Lambert
21. Lose Yourself – Eminem (yes, I  know it’s rap, but give this one a try. Normally I don’t listen to rap, but the lyrics in this song are worth it)

Stay positive everyone and pass it forward!

About the Author:  Katharine is an award-winning author and the world’s leading concierge trainer and consultant as well as a Certified Concierge Specialist (CCS) and Speaker. She is one of the founders of Triangle Concierge and is the Chairman of the Board and Founder of the International Concierge and Lifestyle Management Association (ICLMA) as well as the author of several business books including her award winning book Going Above and Beyond and The Concierge Manual. Sh can be reached via her websites www.katharinegiovanni.com and www.triangleconcierge.com

I’ve been getting quite a few emails from entrepreneurs asking me how to find your target market. More specifically, most people want to know what the most lucrative target market is.

Doesn’t everyone?

Some might answer by saying that the big money is in corporate. Others might tell you to open up an exclusive boutique-type company. Everyone has a different opinion on this … start small, start big, target VIP’s, target groups … the list goes on and on and on.

Here’s my answer …

I genuinely believe that you’ll make the most money doing what you are best at.

Here’s another question I get asked … why does one person make a lot of money in a particular niche while another does not?

Mostly because that person absolutely loves what they do and they’re naturally good at it. They have a passion for it that comes from deep inside of them. They are persistent and determined and never ever give up their dream. No matter what.

Listen, here’s how you’ll know you’re in the right niche …

You love what you do so much that you would do it for free. It doesn’t feel like work because you enjoy it so much. Plus you find the work really easy. Of course it’s easy to you, it’s your gift. You were born to do it. It’s like playing the piano. Everyone can learn to play, but only a few are naturals and really good at it.

Years ago, before we started up Triangle Concierge, my husband Ron and I decided to start a business. We were both tired of working for corporate America and wanted to start our own little company. So we started to think about what we could do. Back then, Ron’s mother worked in a bakery in Hoboken NJ making Hoboken’s famous bread. Using her recipe, we thought we could open up a bread business, install a brick oven and make the bread. So we went to my father, who was an entrepreneur, and asked him what he thought about our idea. His answer was this …

“What do you know about baking bread?” He asked me.

“Well nothing” I replied.

“Ok. What do you know?” He asked.

“I’m actually a great meeting planner” (I was in the meeting/event industry for 15 years).

He then leveled me a look and said simply … “do what you know.”

A few months later we opened up our first business … Meeting Planning Plus.

So do what you know. What industry are you coming out of?  Can you offer your new company services back to that industry?  When you first thought of opening up a business, where did your thoughts instinctively go?  Go there now. Trust your instincts as they are usually right. Don’t let your brain talk you out of something your heart is telling you to do. Do some market research and find out what the needs are in your area.

Then be willing to change. Go where your intuition takes you. We started out as Meeting Planners. We ended up as International Concierge Trainers. So it goes without saying here that somewhere along the way we were willing to change. When we hit the proverbial wall and the sales stopped, we didn’t just pack up our toys and go home. We looked at our operation and kept what was working and tossed the rest. We changed our name, redesigned our services, and tried again (and again and again, but that’s another story). Never give up.

So how do you find your niche?

Look into your heart for the answer. It knows the way you should go. Trust that feeling and go!

About the Author:  Katharine is an award-winning author and the world’s leading concierge trainer and consultant as well as a Certified Concierge Specialist (CCS) and Speaker. She is one of the founders of Triangle Concierge and is the Chairman of the Board and Founder of the International Concierge and Lifestyle Management Association (ICLMA) as well as the author of several business books including her award winning book Going Above and Beyond and The Concierge Manual. Sh can be reached via her websites www.katharinegiovanni.com and www.triangleconcierge.com

Have you ever heard of the expression water under the bridge?

It refers to past experiences and conflicts. The assumption is that the longer you live, the more water you have under your bridge. Most people use this expression when they are referring to a bad experience they had.

So here’s my question …

How much water has to be under your bridge before you can walk off?

Personally, I think you should focus on what is BEYOND the bridge, not what is under it. It’s hard to move forward in your life if you are constantly looking behind you. Start walking towards your future.

What are you waiting for?

Happiness can be yours if you stop waiting for it and start grabbing it!  BE happy now!  BE happy with what you have now!

I suggest that you focus on the positive aspects of your life, not the negative. Spend more time with positive people and less time with the negative ones who suck the energy right out of you. You know the ones I’m talking about! Remember, you are the sum of the five people you spend the most time with!  So lose the negative friends and start spending time with people who are positive and dare I say it?   HAPPY!

Here are a few tips to get you started. Start moving towards getting your body, mind and spirit together:

For your body …

Get some exercise!  Take a walk. Go to the gym. Play tennis. Go jogging. Do something to get your body moving. Try and commit to three days a week to start. Personally, I’m doing the “Couch to 5K” jogging program. Yes, I’ve taken up jogging at the ripe old age of 50!  Thought I was going to die the first time I did it, but it’s getting easier every time I go out there.

Eat healthy food. Add more fruits and vegetables to your diet. In fact, try and eat a vegetarian meal once or twice a week. It will make all the difference in the world. Ron and I are eating more vegetarian meals and making fish and chicken a side dish and not the main event. I also don’t eat red meat, although Ron does once in a while. We have elimated as much processed food as we can. I read labels and if I don’t understand the ingredients, then we don’t buy it. If I see high fructose corn syrup or anything “hydrogenated” I really don’t buy it!

For your mind …

Make a Wish List of what you want to do with your life. Start small and slowly move to bigger things. How do you eat something really big? One small bite at a time.

Now from that wish list, create your action list. What actions can you take RIGHT NOW to obtain that first goal on your wish list?  It could be as simple as internet research.

For example, let’s say that one of the things on your wish list is that you want to be in a good relationship with someone. You can say affirmations and be as positive about it as you want, but unless you want to marry the pizza delivery guy, you’ll have to go out and actually do something to make that wish a reality.

For your spririt …

Start a gratitude journal. What are you grateful for?

Gratitude takes you to a different plane because it brings your brain to a higher place. It changes your focus from what you don’t have, to what you do have. Gratitude for what you do have will take you to a place where you can begin to make lasting positive changes to your life.

Take five minutes each day and write down the things you are grateful for in that moment. They could be simple or complex, it really doesn’t matter. Just write it down.

Today, I am grateful for …

1. My family
2. My health
3. My job
4. It’s a sunny and warm day
5. My house is clean
6. I’m drinking a great cup of coffee

I’m sure you get the point.  They don’t have to be monumental, they can just be simple things that you are grateful for.

If you do this simple thing every day, keeping positive and living a happier more fulfilling life will start to become a reality.  You’ll see the things around you that you are grateful for versus the crap that you’re not.

Gratitude will help you keep your focus on the love and prosperity around you, and will help you stay away from fear, lack and hate.

Gratitude will guide you to the hope of a better tomorrow.

About the Author: Katharine is an award-winning author and the world’s leading concierge trainer and consultant as well as a Certified Concierge Specialist (CCS) and Speaker. She is one of the founders of Triangle Concierge and is the Chairman of the Board and Founder of the International Concierge and Lifestyle Management Association (ICLMA) as well as the author of several business books including her award winning book Going Above and Beyond and The Concierge Manual.

To read a few of Katharine’s free articles, please visit: http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Katharine_Giovanni.

She can be contacted through her websites at www.katharinegiovanni.com and at www.triangleconcierge.com