The blog about business and entrepreneurship
Elegant and traditional, the Canadian Club is a c**ktail that screams triumph. Rub elbows with the rich and successful in the southern parts of the United States and you can bet you’ll be offered one of these!
It’s simple, here’s what you’ll need:
Canadian Club Whiskey
Ginger Ale
Lime
Ice
Directions:
Fill a Collins glass with ice, add a shot of Canadian Club Whiskey, fill to the top with ginger ale, squeeze in a wedge of lime, and ENJOY!
While you may love your job, what you do, and enjoy your clients…
Every Diva Mogul deserves a break and needs some time to relax, especially during those particularly busy and stressful work phases. Here’s how you can master the art of relaxation:
1. Identify the things that bring peace and tranquility to your life (outside of work).
My list looks something like this: being physically active (tennis, long walks, jogs, bike rides), watching light-hearted movies, talking to friends or family, cooking, and discovering new places. It sounds terribly cliché, but it helps to look at your list whenever you’re feeling overworked, stressed, or in the dumps.
2. Identify all the things that remind you of work or might tempt you to work.
Shut them out or turn them off momentarily. For me, this would mainly be my Blackberry and laptop. It’s fine to sometimes ignore the world. It’s called sanity.
3. Make the moment about YOU.
As much as you love your clients and it’s part of your job to make everything about them, you need to remember to create time that’s all about YOU. When we spend time catering to our own needs (mind, body, spirit) we feel so much happier and alive helping other people succeed.
And what a day it has been. Indecision 2008 has treated me well. I’ve been living it up like a true entrepreneur with a residual income from Uncle Sam (for this day only). You see, I kindly volunteered my day to work the polls (no, not those poles silly) and was put on standby notice in case one of the workers was sick or didn’t show up. Apparently they didn’t have any problems because here I am. Here’s where the residual income part plays in…they pay me to standby even if I’m not called in for duty! Can I get a whoop-whoop?!
(ok…perhaps not mega bucks, but it’ll pay a bill or two or three)
Anyhoot, I woke up to the sound of RAIN after nearly 8 rainless months. Threw clothes on (then raincoat) and ran out to cast my vote before returning to my humble adobe home office to begin a cozy workday in my PJs. Got sooooo much work done in the A.M. that I decided to treat myself to a nice lunch out…at a brewery. Returning home 99.9% sober to work (and in case Auntie County Registrar of Voters calls), I continued my winning work streak until RIGHT ABOUT NOW. I’m officially off election standby duty and ready to bust out of here for an election news surfing party.
It’s a whole new world for business owners. Using an airline flight will no longer be an excuse to disconnect from the world. Does this excite you or infuriate you?
For American Airlines customers flying from New York to San Francisco, Los Angeles, or Miami in-flight Internet service is now officially available for $12.95 per flight. Now you or the person next to you can check email, surf the net, and instant message…from 30,000 feet.
American Airlines hopes to make this service available on most flights. Not surprisingly, American is looking at this as a money making opportunity and a chance to off-set high fuel costs. For the remainder of the year, MultiMedia Intelligence predicts the in-flight broadband to bring in $6.6 million and by 2012…sit down…$936 million. And after 2012, this Diva Mogul is predicting broadband access at 30,000 feet to become a multibillion dollar industry. No small sum.
In the upcoming months, SouthWest and Delta both have plans to provide the same service to their customers.
While I’m a Diva Mogul who supports entrepreneurship and business, I also appreciate quiet time and disconnecting from the world. Before we know it, we will be sitting next to executives and sales managers having loud video conference calls in surrounding seats. Is this your idea of a pleasant flight?
View the Yahoo! News video “Surf the web at 30,000 feet”.
Have a nice flight!
She’s rich, she’s a diva, and she’s most definitely a mogul. Liliane Bettencourt is a very rich Diva Mogul.
But hold tight, she’s not a self-made billionaire Diva Mogul. No, she didn’t work tireless midnight hours to make her fortune. You could be a billionaire too, if your father had left his makeup company to you when he died.
Ms. Bettencourt is heir to the L’Oreal fortune. According to Forbes, she’s the richest woman in France and comes in at #17 on the world’s billionaire list. She’s worth an estimated $22.9 billion, no small sum of money (Forbes).
Such a large fortune isn’t without its controversy. Liliane’s dad, Eugene Schueller, is said to have been a Nazi sympathizer during World War II. Her late husband, Andre Bettencourt, also created waves in the press with his anti-semetic ties.
This Diva Mogul created the Bettencourt Schueller Foundation, an award for European researchers under the age of forty-five. It’s called the “Liliane Bettencourt Prize for Life Sciences.” It’s rumored she supports other cultural and humanitarian foundations.
At the ripe age of 85, the public doesn’t hear much from Ms. Bettencourt, principal L’Oreal shareholder. But as the folks over at Top Business Entrepreneurs noted, “silence is most honorable.” Perhaps so little says so much.
Fear can consume you and completely take over certain aspects or areas of your life, business, or career. Sometimes we experience fear for a reason, like preventing us from doing stupid or dangerous things. Mostly, however, we experience fear for no reason at all and it impedes our ability to do what would truly make us happy or productive. How do you get over your fears and morph into a confident Diva Mogul? Sometimes it’s not that difficult.
Identify your fear.
The first step to getting over a fear is first identifying the issue. Example: Are you afraid of social situations and thus unable to do the networking you need for your job? Know that even the most social of social butterflies face certain social fears. Accept for a fact that not everyone will be comfortable with one hundred percent of all types of social situations. Own up to the fear and the extent of your fear.
Brainstorm a way to get over your fear.
How can you get over your fear? Here’s another example: If you’re afraid of social situations and you’ve assessed that it’s not the event, but the fact you might not see a familiar face…bring a familiar face. You have to start somewhere. Confess your fear to a coworker or friend and ask for their help. Explain how they can help you get over your fear. Perhaps they can accompany you to the first event and stay by your side the entire time. The second event they can be by your side, but slowly move away and on to their own conversations…by the third event they’ll be there but not speaking with you. With practice, you’ll be good to go alone!
Yesterday a good friend of mine reminded me of two important Diva Mogul lessons.
Lesson 1: Never underestimate the power of temp agencies to find a job.
Last year, fresh back from a year of adventures around the world, a dear friend of mine began job hunting in our so-so economy. After sending out resume after resume with no response, my highly competent friend (having her on staff would be the equivalent to winning the employee lottery) finally gave in and visited a temp agency in hopes of finding a temporary fix to her financial woes.
In a matter of days, a very well known corporation was on the line asking to hire her for a few weeks. My fabulous friend took the temporary position and was soon offered an hourly pay raise because managers were so impressed with her work. She was also given a couple of highly-evolved tasks, usually not reserved for temporary employees.
When the couple of weeks were up, Company XYZ offered to hire her on a full-time basis. However, during her temporary position at this company, she began getting bites from those many resumes she had sent out weeks back. It was a tough decision, but she decided to leave Company XYZ for a try at Company ABC.
My friend has now been working at Company ABC for several months. A few days ago, she received a phone call from Company XYZ asking her to PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE come back and work for them.
Tune in Monday for Lesson 2!
Interested in getting ahead in your career?
Whether self-employed or enslaved by big corporate machines, everyone wants to advance in their careers. While it’s helpful to work hard, sometimes getting ahead is more about relationship building. Here it is in caps: THE KEY TO GETTING AHEAD IS SCHMOOZING WITH THE HEAD HONCHO. Whether it’s your boss or an important client, BUILD A GOOD RELATIONSHIP. The hardest worker doesn’t always get the raise or pushed up the corporate ladder faster (this is not to say you shouldn’t be working hard).
If you haven’t already, it’s time to work on relationship building:
Step 1.) Identify who can get you that raise or ladder boost. These people are also known as the “powers that be.”
By schmoozing with these people, you need to be super careful to send off the signals that you actually care and are genuinely interested in them, their work, and what they have to say. Be careful about faking it, sometimes that can have the opposite effect you desire because anyone can spot a brown-noser from miles away. Remember that annoying little Sally in second grade? Don’t be like her.
Step 2.) Know and do what has to be done to get ahead.
(Disclaimer: I’m not talking about anything illegal or sexual. Rather, going to the birthday party of the manager’s kidlet or c**ktails with the boss and spouses.)
It’s the small things you find in common that count in the long run. The birthday party appearance could be worth literally thousands of dollars in the coming years or months.
ACTION: Figure out how to geat ahead in your job or increase your salary. Start now!
Having a professional voice mail greeting is vital for any type of business.
Have you ever called someone on their “business line” only to get a voicemail that sounds like it was recorded in a bar instead of a place of business? It’s not very professional, so here is how NOT to spoil business relations with terrible voice mail recordings…it is very simple, yet so many people forget:
Record your voice mail in a quiet place- Too many people record their voice mail greeting with lots of voices and static in the background. If you’re Jenny from the block, it’s cool. But you’re not. You are a Diva Mogul trying to make a living…so keep it quiet!
Avoid dogs barking- Unless you are a pet sitter, dog walker, or groomer this is inappropriate. I once listened to a greeting from a consultant (nothing to do with pets) who had a yappy dog in the background while she was recording. Not every professional
Avoid children screaming- Are you a stay-at-home mom working from your basement? Well, be sure the children are at camp or taking naps when you record your voice mail greeting. Just because you work from home while babysitting little Sally and Jimmy doesn’t mean you need to advertise it to the world. Even if you run a daycare center from your house, please record after the children go home…people will think you run a very orderly operation!
Check out this great video for tips on recording a professional greeting!
Yet another fab money making idea has crossed your mind. Ah…the potential. You reach for your pen and paper. Oops…you forgot your notebook. Or, perhaps your pen. If you are driving, there is no way you can send yourself an email.
So many grand ideas have passed through my mind, but if I did not write them down, out they went. Lost forever to an idea graveyard. Oh, the frustration of an idea lost forever!
Whenever there is a problem, there is always a solution. That is what makes us extra-ordinary Diva Moguls.
Here is the solution to the above problem:
Most cell phones have an easy access button which allows you to record short messages. While this function was probably invented for you to remember you parked in Goofy 17 at Disneyland, Diva Moguls can use the feature to keep track of those fab money-making ideas.
When you get home listen to the message, add the idea to your Diva Mogul List O’Ideas, and erase to make space for the next brain powered moment of idea glory.
