Monthly Archives: February 2012

Excellence: How Contagious Are You?

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photo-30When it comes to Excellence…

How are you positively impacting people, situations, outcomes and lives…

…by sharing your Excellence, passing it on, spreading it generously among others?

IMAGINE: What if your Excellence became Contagious…

A HANDFUL OF BOLD: 7 WAYS TO SPREAD CONTAGIOUS EXCELLENCE!

1. When you can articulate success… you can replicate success!  (Discover, develop and deliver your BOLD! Exclamation Point.)

2. Take one inspired thought… apply courageous action… and move your own mountains! (You’ll inspire others around you to move their own, too.)

3. Build respect, relationships and results internally first… to build the rock-solid foundation you need before reaching out externally!  (Get strong inside before taking it outside.)

4. Create room for serendipity, whitespace and downtime!  (Your refreshed energy will translate into your next success.)

5. Hold yourself accountable by making *I Own This* your new self-leadership mantra! (Your mirror message reads: Success is up to ME. Own this.)

6. Social Generosity is the antidote to your rat race rush life!  (Stop long enough to help someone else get ahead.)

7. Your genuine SMILE shared early and often breeds optimism!  (Your Beautiful BOLD S.M.I.L.E. = Your Sincere Means of Igniting Leadership and Excellence!)

Go ahead… make our day…

BE CONTAGIOUS!

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© 1993-2012 Ann Ulrich  THE BOLD! FACTOR®   ANNULRICH.COM

Photo:   A favorite fabric, and now every time I see it, I think: Contagious!

Is That Inside Your Boat?

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photo-54Are you confidently (courageously!) making decisions, focusing your time, energy and effort on matters that truly are within your control?

Or do you spin in place, struggling with indecision, re-thinking it over and over… when you really might just need to simply let it go?

In his book *That’s Outside My Boat*, Olympic journalist Charlie Jones was disappointed to be assigned reporting the rowing and kayaking competitions. Who attends those? (I would!)

He decided to give this bummer assignment his best shot anyway.

BOLD NUGGET: Give a bummer situation your best shot… keep your peripheral view open… see where it leads!

While asked how they handle high winds, rough water, or a broken oar, the athletes consistently responded, *that’s outside my boat*. They clearly did not waste time, effort or energy on things outside of their control.

BOLD NUGGET:  Practice letting go of things that truly are outside your boat/outside your control!

So what DID these athletes take charge of? Their individual training efforts, food they chose as fuel, their mindset, laser focus, and the resulting positive impact on their performance, goal and outcome (crossing that finish line first!). When it comes to preparing for competition: *that’s inside my boat*.

Stop and ask yourself if the decision, situation or issue you’re struggling with is actually inside? or outside? YOUR boat.

Inside your boat? Step up, be accountable, and take responsibility (Own it.) Soon you’ll be setting new goals, getting laser-focused, creating new success as you chart your course based on those areas you actually can control…

And…

Dig deep, finding strength, courage and renewed confidence as you…

LET THE REST GO!

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© 1993-2012 Ann Ulrich  THE BOLD! FACTOR®   ANNULRICH.COM

Photo:  This was a joke at first – an auction item I wanted for a gag gift at our cabin gatherings. But when this pretty little fish came home and found it’s place in the window overlooking the river – it was a Keeper!

Do We Really Need Valentine Validation?

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photo-1Ok, call me a cynic.

Why do we look to card companies, chocolatiers and florists… to validate our love, passion or lust… based on ‘proof’ this one day each year?

Do you really need Valentine Validation?

You really do, huh? You need a gift on Valentine’s Day to know how special you are?

I hate to think someone will feel ‘less than’ (or worse, greater than!) if the package that arrives at the office is for the cubicle next door… Or if a surprise on the doorstep is mis-addressed, intended for a neighbor down the street.

If nothing arrives for you, will it wreck your day? Think about it.

It will? Really?

OK then, be the sender!

MAKE YOUR OWN *AND* SOMEONE ELSE’S DAY!

And either way, let’s not let any day on the calendar determine our self-worth or validate our own sense of CONFIDENCE, our HAPPINESS, our SUCCESS, or our SMILE! 

Especially not that last one. Don’t stop Smiling. We need your Smile. More Smiles please!

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PS… Here ya go.

Just in case you really do need flowers today…

These are just for YOU. 

By the way, I hope you realize there is someone out there who would love to be YOU.

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© 1993-2014 Ann Ulrich THE BOLD! FACTOR®  BEST BOLD U!™ ANNULRICH.COM

Photo:  This recipe came from one of my clients (I can’t name them publicly as they are for now choosing to be a private BOLD! Sponsor funding one of my upcoming Keynotes) Super-healthy dark chocolate, ginger, walnuts, cranberry treat. Ah, maybe super-healthy is relative: These are SO good I indulge in UNhealthy amounts! ;) And the flowers were a gift to me from someone who created an event and knew I love BOLD orange mixed in with with all my BOLD reds.

Self-Leadership: Move Your Own Mountains

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IMG_1633The tough thing about Self-Leadership?

It’s Up To YOU.

The great thing about Self-Leadership?

It’s Up To YOU!

When you want to create new success, moving forward without waiting for anyone else’s green light as your GO… try this:

Take one inspired thought and apply courageous action.

When you COMMIT and are willing to DO THE WORK…

You can forever MOVE YOUR OWN MOUNTAINS!

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© 1993-2012 Ann Ulrich   THE BOLD! FACTOR®   ANNULRICH.COM

Photo:   *Beginning The Journey* art by Shane Sullivan. Love seeing this little picture on our wall. Love bridges. Love journeys.

Eliptical Wisdom: Getting The Goal

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Getting on the Eliptical isn’t the hard part. Finally second nature, it’s what I do to start my day a few mornings a week.

Our condo workout room is pretty quiet at 5am. It takes just a minute to set the TV, fan, water and as my final all-systems-go:

I ceremoniously tighten my pony tail. Ready.

The hard part comes a few minutes in. When calories burned shows around 100. Early on I often bailed around 200. 500 seemed elusive and hey, it was just a number I made up anyway…

Now I’m used to seeing 100cals, groaning less, seeing 250 and thinking hey it’s almost 300… about then I try to laser focus on max’ing my muscles and breathing and sweating… and suddenly I’ve pushed past 500. It also helps to hide the number with a towel.

What keeps me going and committed?

Trying to never lose sight of my goal: Feel Younger, Be Stronger.

And specifically how does that goal calculate on the Elliptical? 500 calories burned.

No matter how I get there, intervals or straight away, I have one simple goal: hit 500.

Here’s My Elliptical Wisdom On Getting YOUR Goal (any goal!) Business or Life:

1) Define TWO Clear Goals: Your big picture goal (mine is Feel Younger, Be Stronger) and how you’ll measure so you know you hit it (my goal: blast 500 calories)

2) Set Yourself Up For Success: first establish, then commit, making it repeatable or you’ll risk over-thinking it each time.

3) Do The Work.

4) Celebrate Big & Little Successes Along The Way.

5) Check Your Peripheral View to help someone cross THEIR finish line as reach yours!

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© 1993-2012 Ann Ulrich   THE BOLD! FACTOR®   ANNULRICH.COM