I'm sending this edition of “Powered by Possibility” in a new format along with the prayer that Springtime for you is bringing a spirit of renewal and growth – personally and professionally.

This month's excerpt from Balance Point's “Eight Elements of Personal and Organizational Effectiveness” is number four …..

Express Yourself -- express your unique contribution to your loved ones, your colleagues and to your community.

As always, your comments and questions are welcome, quotes, ideas and websites that you find interesting are actively solicited.

Be extraordinary!

Robert

A Balance Point monthly eZine dedicated to assisting people in living extraordinary lives and creating extraordinary organizations.

We encourage you to forward this message to friends or colleagues who want to be more effective in working with people. They can subscribe to future issues and receive our free 23 page report “ Simple Truths and Enduring Values – The Eight Elements of Personal and Organizational Effectiveness,” at http://www.extraordinarypeople.com/ezine/subscribe.htm.

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In this issue:

• Feature: Express Yourself

• Extraordinary Wisdom Quotes of the Month

• Rave Recommendations from Balance Point

• Extraordinary Living Action Steps

Your knowledge, experience and abilities are the contribution and difference only you can make. Recognizing these qualities and expressing yourself through word and deed is a sure-fire way to improve your results in life.

Many people have been taught to be silent and passive, to “put a lid on it”. Our lessons as children often included messages that what we thought or felt didn't matter; and often, those early communications have been transformed into self-limiting beliefs that act to limit us as adults in families and workplaces.

Withholding your ideas, objections and point-of-view weakens both your self confidence and the results you want to create with others. It's a vicious cycle: you withhold, which strengthens self limiting beliefs and then your personal and professional results suffer because your ideas weren't heard and tested…which further reduces self confidence so the next time you'll be even less inclined to speak.

Do you depend on others (boss, spouse, trainer) to “draw you out”? That's a losing game. The other person might not see that role as her responsibility or simply feel that she is too busy to play your game.

How many good ideas have you had in your lifetime for improvement or innovation that you didn't express or act on? It's only when people know where you stand by your words and actions that you will attract and engage the others you need to support your vision and create accomplishment.

All accomplishment is rooted in developing your ability to use positive, engaging, powerful and persuasive language …. and then act on it. Some simple and powerful tips for doing that are listed below in our Action Steps section. Read on...

Our theme this month is “Express Yourself” so here are a few of my favorite quotes on that subject.

For business and personal travel, Balance Point staff and yours truly have experienced really good results booking hotels on-line with: http://www.quikbook.com.

You can specify location, dates, price ranges and then refine your search in multiple ways. Each individual hotel follows a standardized format for “selling itself” including photographs of rooms and common areas.

The biggest selling point – beyond convenience of booking – is clearly price. We've been very impressed, especially with the “bargains” in major metropolitan markets like New York and San Francisco . Once you build a profile “on site”, it is an intuitive, well organized and useful service.

Try it …and let us know how it works for you!

Express Yourself

1.  First, have something to say. I read that simple advice years ago in a Toastmaster's public speaking manual and it's one of the best action steps I can recommend. It requires clarity on your purpose in communicating, the vision you are attempting to enroll others into and the deeper intention of your communication. If your intent is positive, your results will be the same.

2.  Choose outcome oriented language. Avoid blame. Those are simple words and very powerful advice. Choose language that focuses yourself and the listener on the positive result you want to create, on what's possible and on solutions for mutual benefit.

3.  Put yourself in the best possible mental, emotional and energetic resource state before you launch and important expression of yourself. Here are some questions that will guide your communication “come from”:

• What do I want?
• How will I know when I have it?
• When I get what I want, what else in my life will improve?
• What resources do I have available to help me with this?
• How can I best utilize the resources that I currently have?
• What am I going to begin doing now to get what I want?
• What am I going to communicate first to get what I want?

4.  Share feelings as well as facts. Let people know you care about your position and about them. Remember that your words are a small part of total communication. Your passion needs to shine through and demonstrate itself in your energy and your body language.

5.  Go for it! Holding back is for people who are planning to fail. Your full self expression is wanted and needed by all the people in your life.

Wishing you an Extraordinary Life and Extraordinary Organizations,

Robert

Robert White
Balance Point

P. O. Box 40405
Denver , CO 80204
Phone: 1-425-803-0303
E-mail: Robert@BalancePointInternational.com

http://www.BalancePointInternational.com

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Balance Point Privacy Policy:  We do not share any information about any subscriber with anyone outside Balance Point for any reason. Period.