Power Seating & 25 Pounds --- Gone!

In 2.5 months, I reached my goal of losing 25 pounds! I'm still astonished by how great I feel and how easy it was to lose the unwanted weight.  My health was being impacted by the excess. Many friends and colleagues are surprised that I could lose the weight. Not that I wasn't capable but that I had the weight to lose.  I guess I hid it well.

Here are some of lessons that I am continuing to learn from this that I would like to share with you.

1.  Goals matter! Having something to strive towards makes a difference.
2.  Understand why you want to accomplish the goal. In my case, first & foremost was to improve my health and feel better.  Looking better in my clothes was secondary.
3.  Having a coach to offer support, guidance and motivation (thank you, Amy  Goober!) was hugely important and a key to my success.
4.  Having 4 "Yeses" to TimeFinder's Honesty and Reality Check meant that I was in the "zone" and my mind and heart were ready to go for it!

TimeFinder's Honesty and Reality Check

• • • Do I really want to make it happen?
    • Am I being realistic?
    • If necessary, am I willing to work at it over a period of time?
    • Am I willing to re-evaluate and make adjustments to my current activities?

 I am happy to work with anyone who has a goal that they want to accomplish or that has been alluding them.   Professional or personal, including a weight loss, I'm here!  

Power Seating:

3 Strategies in Choosing Your Place at the Table

Many dynamics can influence your influence when you run a meeting.  Some effective meeting strategies include a well thought out agenda, preparing for the meeting and communicating the purpose and goal.  One influence that tends to be overlooked is seating for success. Where you sit and where other are seated can greatly impact getting your desired outcome from a meeting.

If you are leading a meeting, here are 3 strategies to position yourself for success:

1.  Sit at the head of the table or opposite the most important person or people you most want to influence during the meeting (not at opposite ends of the head of a boardroom table - kitty corner works).
2.  Face the door so you can see who is entering at any given time; no need to turn around or away from the table because of a distraction.
3.  Avoid putting potential antagonists sitting face-to-face. Seat them side-by-side or away from each other, while keeping potential talkers or those who may cause you problems during the meeting close to you.

If there are certain meeting VIPs (your manager, client, etc.) that you want to have near you, seated strategically, arrive early to hold a seat for them.   If you aren't assigning seats, place a folder where you would like that person to sit and when they arrive, show them to their seat. Seating is a subtle nuance.  Add this to your tool box of strategies to lead a great meeting.