If you decide to play it could pay! That's right, TransformationWorks is offering you, our valued subscriber, a chance to win big each month. This month's drawing is for a Month of Coaching. That's right, a month of Coaching at no- cost to you (value $375)! (Coaching can be done by phone if you are not in Houston)

Here's how to play. You will find three brief questions on the lower left-hand side of the newsletter. The answer to each question can be found within the newsletter. Each subscriber that emails the correct answers back to me will be entered into the drawing. The September newsletter will announce the name of the winner along with a brief profile about them and their business. Good luck!

Be sure to read about Dr. Bailey in the "Winner's Circle"!

In the April 2004 issue of Fast Company, GE's CEO, Jeff Immelt revealed his 10-point Leadership Checklist. His advice included the following:

The importance of alignment and time management. There is no magic to being a good leader. But at the end of every week, you have to spend your time around the things that are really important: setting priorities, measuring outcomes and rewarding them.

Leaders learn constantly and also have to learn to teach. A leader's primary role is to teach. People who work with you don't have to agree with you, but they have to feel you're willing to share what you have learned.

Stay true to your style. Leadership is an intense journey into yourself. You can use your own style to get anything done. It's about being self- aware. Every morning, I look in the mirror and say, "I could have done three things better yesterday."

Fortune magazine has named Carly Fiorina, CEO of Hewlett Packard, as the most powerful woman in U.S. business for six years in a row. When asked in a May 2004 interview about whether she thought mergers offer any lessons for small business owners, Carly had this to say "I think sometimes tough decisions are never unaminous. But the time to act is before it's obvious. The time to act is when you still have time to change. One of the things I think leaders have to do in leading companies, and in leading people is to see things before everyone else sees them. When something is obvious, it may well be too late."

In the Heart of Leadership: Reflections on the Rituals of Wise Leaders, Robin Sharma (2004) offers her 4 best leadership lessons. She says:

Understand that at the end of the day, leadership is about relationships. To cultivate the bonds of relationship, peak performing leaders remember that the little things are the big things. They keep their promises, they are punctual and respectful. Showing leadership, at any level, means building high trust, high- touch relationships.

Leaders strive for mastery over mediocrity. The quality of your professional and personal life ultimately comes down to the quality of the choices you make every minute of every hour of the day. One of the most important choices that leaders make is to raise their standards. They commit themselves from the core of their beings to being masters at the work that they do.

Leaders focus on doing what is right. Leaders have the courage and strength of character to do what their heart tells them is the right thing to do in any given instance rather than doing what is easy. Bold leaders often take the road less traveled.

Smart leaders know that the time is now. If you don't act on life, life has a habit of acting on you. The day slips into weeks, weeks into months, and months into years. Leaders take daily, weekly, yearly stock of their lives. They upgrade their education or learn new skills that allow them to serve their staff or their clients better. They take time now to enrich their minds and shed the shackles of complacency.

Now is the time to upgrade your leadership skills. Now is the time to move to the next level in your career or business development. Click here for more information. As Elisabeth Kubler-Ross said so eloquently: "It is only when we know and understand that we have a limited time on earth and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up that we begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had."

Why Are The Simplest Things So Hard?

While we all have different styles of learning and some projects will appeal to us more than others, activities that create significant anxiety often have their roots in old experiences where an event and a negatively charged feeling got paired together. For example, John's wife complains that she can't get him to tackle even the simplest household repairs. While John did learn to do handywork with his father, he experiences no pleasure in it because his skills in this area are paired with memories of being scrutinized and criticized by his father.

Cultural stereotypes may also affect our comfort with certain activities. If you are male, your interest and pleasure in doing needlework may be inhibited by anxiety. A woman might feel some anxiety because her ideal birthday gift is a new drill or jigsaw.

So, if you find that you have anxiety that inhibits you from doing what brings you pleasure or that keeps you from doing day-to-day life tasks, be curious about what is causing it. If you are putting yourself down, STOP IT! Second, take the time to research where your anxiety came from. Was it a past experience that was coupled with a negatively charged emotion? Are you a victim of stereotyping?

Instead of saying, "I can't", tell yourself, "I can learn to do this, even if I am afraid." Or, "That was then, this is now. I can do it differently." Get support. For example, take a basic class in money management or sit down with a caring, trusted, and skilled friend if you get anxious and avoid balancing your checkbook.

Sometimes our anxieties are more complex or have broad effects on our lives. When that is the case, you may need to consult a psychotherapist who can help you understand the origins of your anxiety and work through the problems that are inhibiting you. When we choose to work through our problems, we not only release fear, but we expand our self-definition and send a message to our whole being that we have the power to change and create the life we want to live.

Click here to learn about psychotherapy at TransformationWorks.

Upcoming Events

WBFG is a success team for women who want to turn their business or professional visions and ideas into achievable goals and sustain momentum toward success. Visit
Transformation Works for general information about Success Teams at TWC or call 713-667-6047 to inquire about joining WBFG.

Coming in August

Working Effectively with Your Inner Critic
(Leisure Learning Unlimited)
Saturday, August 28th
9:30 am to 12:00 pm
Class code: 5161
Cost: $29
Location: 2990 Richmond, Suite 120
Register Now

Need a Speaker?
Book Joyce in 2004 to speak to your group or organization. Whether it's a 20-minute presentation or a 3-hour seminar, Joyce can meet your needs.

For the last 18 years, Joyce has spoken to audiences- ranging from the general public to small workgroups to her professional peers--on a variety of business, professional, and personal development topics. Sample topics include:

Call Joyce at 713-667-6047 or email her for topics and available times.