This is the FULL VERSION that sells for over $600…yes, you heard me right.

Just before posting this I checked the price at Office Depot and they have it for $679.99

Things you need to know to order:

- The program is a full version digital download and they do give you the option to order the CD for an additional $13.00 at the time you place your order (don’t be cheap…get the back up CD).

- You must use a school email address to order.

- It’s a great Holiday gift for any student you may know. Or a great gift they could buy for you if you’re not a student

- Although it’s a student special the program is a full version.

- You can download the program on 2 computers.

This really is the Ultimate Steal…I love my copy. Microsoft has made other programs obsolete with this new version of Office 2007.

In the past, I had to buy special software to edit photos so they looked professional and for formatting my dissertation as well as other tasks but…office 2007 incorporates everything those other programs did…only Microsoft makes it easier to use.

Do yourself a favor and get a copy before the special ends…

to order… click on the product photo.

Presentation on breast cancer and humor…click here to view

As I learn and continue to grow, I gain more clarity about how I want to show up in my life and in this world…

My focus on personal growth has always been reflected in my life and my work. And now I want to bring it forward in my writing…

So, welcome to my world!

Follow your own star,

Michelle Simms

Write a message to yourself and have it go out into virtual space…but don’t worry, it will return to your email address at a date and time you choose in the future.

The message could be your goals, your purpose in life, a reminder note, a summary of last year, family memories, or a love letter, let your imagination lead you and just have fun.

Personally, I like to summarize the last 12 months, and then list my goals, dreams, and feelings. It is a wonderful surprise to see the message return a year later.

If a year seems like a life time to you…chose a shorter time frame…it’s up to you.

I use this concept as a support tool for my goals. A year later, I can see my progress and how my life and goals have evolved. I like to print out the email and add it to my journal.

Maybe you have a challenge you do not really want to share with other right now but would like to hold yourself accountable by having a reminder sent to you at some time in the future.

Just click on the virtual time capsule photo, fill out the form and save your message to your future self. You’ll receive the message back in due time, giving you a chance to read the thoughts you had back in the past.

The time capsule is a great way to reconnect with an event from the past.

Whatever you decide to write…have fun with it!

Follow your own star,

Michelle

I love to learn about new things…always have. I consider myself a life long learner. During a typical day, I spend a little time doing things like reading, listening to CD’s (music, seminars, audio books), talking with people, typing, writing, researching, walking, meditating, and searching the internet.

In fact, most mornings you can find me at Barnes and Noble, in the Starbucks Cafe, on the internet. (that in itself is a story for another day)

I have spent the last several decades committed to my personal growth. Along the way there has been some great experiences and some not so great…all bearing lessons for me. Nonetheless, I am passionate about learning, developing, and expanding my self-awareness.

Just so we are clear…when I say learning I mean learning from my experiences. I live my life to the fullest. This you will discover as we get to know each other a little better.

Since challenging myself to expand my awareness, it just felt natural to create this environment that provides information on personal development.

I don’t know where you are in your journey but I would like to invite you to poke around, comment on the blog, and maybe even join us in one of the teleclasses.

Or send me an email and let me know what your biggest challenge is…maybe I can address the topic in the blog.

According to the Harvard Business Review (Feb, 2007), self-awareness has just been recognized as the most important capability for leaders to develop. I would add that this is a quality that is beneficial for anyone to develop.

After all, we are all leaders somewhere in our lives aren’t we? Emotions can play an important role in our careers, education, at home, in our community, and in all our relationships.

Ever find that you get upset easily or fairly regularly? Maybe you feel overwhelmed most of the time, stressed out, or even tired?

Remember the old joke, "Doc, my arm hurts when I move it like this. What should I do?" To which the good doctor quickly responds, "Stop moving it like that." 

If your life, career, relationships… (fill in the blank) are not going the way you’d like…maybe it’s time you took a hard look at "yourself"… more specifically, your lack of self-awareness.

What is Self-Awareness

Self-awareness is knowing one’s internal states, preferences, resources, and intuitions, allowing us to plan our actions and develop proactive behaviors. People with greater certainty about feelings are better pilots of their lives, having a surer sense of how they really feel about personal decisions from whom to marry to what job to take.

Why is it Important

This is where constructive or critical thinking happens. As you work to develop your self-awareness you increase your self-confidence. A good leader knows when you understand yourself you are more likely to understand others.  Now that’s a skill that can come in handy. Any one striving to increase their skills needs a solid plan.

How Do I Make A Plan

The process is not a quick fix rather it is a life long commitment. Change happens over time. So be patient with yourself while you are learning. Self-awareness allows us to take responsibility for our outcomes, plan our actions, and develop proactive behaviors. Here are some suggestions to get you going in the right direction.

1. Assessment- Assessments can identify your strengths, challenges, and personal style. Also, they mark a baseline and measure growth.

2. Goal setting- Now that you understand your unique style you can create a plan that identifies specific skills that are congruent with your preferences and tendencies yet challenges you to develop new behaviors.

3. Accountability- We all need to be accountable. Recruit a friend, a mentor, or hire a coach. Who ever you decide to work with, collaborate on a plan that spells out exactly what you need from them.

4. Support/Feedback- Feedback is probably the most important dimension in your personal development plan. It is through feedback we can learn to "see ourselves as others see us."

By developing your self-awareness you are increasing your emotional intelligence. The knowledge and skills that you develop to accurately identify and express your emotions are vital for human performance not to mention, physical health.

Author bio
Copyright Michelle P Simms, personal development coach. Her ideal client is not defined by a specific profession, but by the passion she has to grow personally and professionally. At http://www.SimmsInternational.com Michelle works with women from all around the globe.

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Did you know that, according to a recent study, most small businesses do not use strategic planning when marketing their businesses? Or that, according to a study by Ron Robinson, that businesses using strategic planning and management benefit from better decision making, objective assessments, and, ultimately, more progress?

In general, business owners want their success to come simply from their superior products or services. However, offering your consumers or clients best-in-class features and benefits is only half the battle. 

How do people discover your business exists? How do you retain customers? How do you plan on expanding?

It is easy to want your product or service to work for you. A new entrepreneur in town opening a small Italian restaurant may be relying too heavily on an up-and-coming chef he has discovered. 

From there, he may take the advice of others in the industry and hope for the best – that people will discover the great food and the business will flourish. It’s no accident that 60 percent of restaurants fail in the first three years of business.

To prevent against such failures, and to get the best results, it is vital to develop both a business plan and a marketing plan. These two documents will clearly delineate your strategies and tactics – your plan for future success and the actions that you will implement to create that success. 

Instead of blindly trying marketing campaigns or adding features to your product, marketing and business plans will not only help you keep track of what works and what doesn’t, but will also help you to make sure you are in the black financially as you begin new projects and try new plans.

What is the difference between a tactic and a strategy? A strategy is an overarching long-term plan. This plan should consist of big ideas. If we return to our new Italian restaurant, the owner’s business strategy could include a grassroots marketing campaign on the internet, sponsoring a local sports team, and finding a unique selling proposition that separates the restaurant from the crowd.

The strategy could also involve more abstract ideas, such as researching other restaurants in the area and famous Italian restaurants, or such as resolving to integrate innovation into your business at every step – from how you run your delivery service to how you keep your books.

Tactics, on the other hand, are smaller actions that work toward your larger strategy. For example, if you were working on your strategy of developing a grassroots marketing campaign on the internet, tactics might include advertising on popular local internet sites, posting in local forums, and creating a MySpace page. 

If you were working on your strategy of developing a unique selling proposition, your tactics might include experimenting with a family dining model, serving fusion food, or creating a dinner theater.

Tactics are more elastic than strategies – while your main strategies will usually stay the same, tactics can be molded, stretched, altered, expanded, or abandoned altogether depending on their success. 

If your grassroots marketing internet campaign is bringing in a significant number of new customers, you can put more time and money into that specific tactic – perhaps with online coupons or an expanded website that allows customers to make delivery orders online. 

On the other hand, if your local sports team sponsorship has not garnered results, don’t sign up next season and use your resources elsewhere.

Many business owners make the mistake of developing strategies but not implementing complementary tactics or trying out tactics without a larger strategy in mind. Neither works. 

Imagine going on a vacation without planning your stops or packing anything. Transversely, imagine going on vacation without having a clear idea of why you picked the spot, what you want out of the vacation, or what you want to bring home.

The ancient military strategist Sun Tzu wrote in his timeless guide, The Art of War, “Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” Put more simply, having a plan but no call to action won’t get you anywhere, while acting without a plan won’t lead to any kind of result.

Here are a few more reasons it is vital for your small business to implement both strategies and tactics:

Both strategies and tactics will make you more aware of your resources. Do you remember how easy it was to spend too much money in your personal life before you outlined a family budget? Your business is the same way. 

If you spend money without a very clear purpose that leads to very clear fiscal results, you will run out of money. Outlining strategies is the perfect way to align your budget. Keeping track of how much your separate tactics cost and how much they bring in will give you a crystal clear picture of what works and what doesn’t.

Sitting down and formulating a plan can stimulate creativity. It’s easy to get caught up in your business and follow the same trajectories as your competitors. Taking the time to think about strategy and to formulate new and interesting tactics will foster innovation, fresh ideas, and new angles. 

Getting your employees involved in developing new tactics will also excite your workers and make them personally involved in your business’ success.

Having a hardcopy of your plan can lead to more money. Drawing up a clear, well researched, thorough business plan can act as proof that your business is viable and that those running the business are thoughtful, careful owners. These business plans can lead to bank loans and investors, which can lead to opportunities for growth and expansion.

Business strategies can solidify your mission and philosophy. The best businesses in the world are those with greater goals than simply making money. They are dedicated to innovation, to environmental concerns, to humanitarian purposes, to forwarding science. 

Even though your small or local business may not be trying to save the world or cure cancer, you can have larger purposes in mind. These purposes, which will begin to shine through as soon as you begin developing your strategy, can motivate employees, catch the eye of clients, and make you feel great about what you do.

Especially for small business owners, you may not feel like you have the time or energy to formulate a strategy and the tactics to back that strategy up – you are flying by the seat of your pants and often things are moving too fast to think. 

However, you will find that developing plans and plans of action will ground you and give you a much needed chance to take a deep breath and take a close look at what you are doing and why.

Author bio
Copyright Michelle P Simms, personal development coach. Her ideal client is not defined by a specific profession, but by the passion she has to grow personally and professionally. At http://www.SimmsInternational.com Michelle works with women from all around the globe.

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You have been chosen to conduct the meeting next week…how are you feeling?

Nothing can frustrate your career faster than not being able to speak in front of groups.

Although CEO’s are expected to be successful communicators, speaking is not just for C-level executives but for all employees.  

Lets face it, the workplace is full of speaking opportunities; meetings, presentations, trainings, seminars, boardroom discussions, interviews, etc. and if you can’t articulate and present your ideas you will not be seen by your peers as a leader.

Public speaking can bring up the biggest fear in all of us. Even the most experienced speakers such as Bill Gates, Dr Phil McGraw, Mark Victor Hansen and others feel fear. In fact, it’s very common and natural to feel some level of fear when presenting. What’s more important is how you manage that fear.

The fear does not have to rule your experience. The more prepared you are the better your public speaking experience will be. Public speaking is a skill that can be learned and developed through practice.

It doesn’t matter if you are the president of an organization, an employee, or an entrepreneur looking for funding for a project…the time will come where you will have to articulate your ideas. 

Most people find they hit a glass ceiling in their career if they do not actively develop the leadership skill of public speaking. Learning to be a speaker or developing into a better speaker can open new doors for you.

Here are some quick tips to cultivate your public speaking skills;

1. Prepare – Make sure to do some research on current information if it is appropriate. Write your speech to include an introduction, some main points, and a conclusion. Decide if you will use the assistance of visual aids. However, don’t use the visual aids such as PowerPoint as a crutch. There are a lot of resources available online to help you when it comes time to write your speech so use them.

2. Humor – Your presentation should include stories, anecdotes, or quotes that directly relate to your topic. Humor embraces your audience and it helps to build rapport with them. Laughter can put your audience and yourself at ease. Consider your audience when determining how much humor to incorporate in your speech. Don’t worry if you’re not good at telling jokes or view yourself as funny, humor can be developed with practice and resources.

3. Eye contact – Be authentic and make eye contact with your audience. Direct eye contact shouts confidence. While in Texas earlier this summer, I attended a presentation on a topic of personal interest. When the speaker walked out on the stage, he never took his eyes off of his notes through the entire speech. Not only did I feel disconnected from the speaker but I could have read the notes myself.

4. Language – When practicing your speech record yourself. Listen for infection, rhythm, volume, pace, and pitch. You need to project your voice to be heard, maintain interest, and be perceived as credible. Body language can enhance your speech. So even if you are nervous you don’t need to show it. Try not to fidget. Keep you posture tall and straight, both feet planted flat on the ground, your head up, and don’t forget to smile.

5. Practice – Prepare your speech thoroughly and practice it often. Through practice, you will develop your confidence and calm your nerves. You want your speech to be authentic not canned so rather than reading your speech to the audience, prepare keyword notes. This will leave room in your presentation for spontaneity.

A good rule of thumb is to memorize your opening sentence, know your main points, know your stories, memorize your closing remarks, and practice for time. Practice your speech standing up it will increase your energy level. If at all possible, practice your speech in the room you will be giving your presentation. This will allow you time to get comfortable with the room.

When fear takes over it causes the speaker to react in one of three ways; bury themselves in their notes, find refuge in their visual aids, or fix on a point on the back wall behind the audience. The effectiveness of a business presentation, no matter how large or small the audience, is largely dependent on the manner in which it is delivered. 

Nervousness stimulates us so use it to your advantage to get fired up and focused. It is imperative that you prepare your material and yourself well.

Record yourself if you can. Recording your performance is the next best thing to coaching. On video we see ourselves as our audience sees us. Try to be objective, remember this is an opportunity to develop your skills. If you want professional support, consider hiring a coach.

Author bio
Copyright Michelle P Simms, personal development coach. Her ideal client is not defined by a specific profession, but by the passion she has to grow personally and professionally. At http://www.SimmsInternational.com Michelle works with women from all around the globe.

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In case you haven’t notice there’s a new generational cohort entering the workplace and they are making their presence know.

Generation Y (aka iGeneration, Google Generation, Millennium Generation, and the Boomerang Generation), have grown up in a world of diverse Internet resources.

If you want to bring out the best in your Generation Y workforce you may have to begin by letting go of traditional methods in favor of a more creative approach. According to experts, Generation Y workers were born generally from 1977-2002. Their force is almost 80 million strong out numbering the Boomers by approximately 1 million.

In a recent survey conducted among hiring managers and Human Resource professionals, across all industries, the generation gap is more pronounced in the areas of communication styles and job expectations in the workplace. The business world as we know it is changing.

As the skilled Boomers retire, companies will have to go the extra mile to replace them. Gen Y workers will have a huge impact on the workplace. An inaccurate description of this group is since they have been pampered their whole life they are lazy.

They are not only high maintenance but high performing as well. This generation of workers comes computer literate and high tech ready. In addition they have very high expectations of themselves.

Employers are scrambling to implement new policies and programs that appeal to the new workforce. Those managers that hold steady to old belief about the workplace and how work is done in the business world—will find themselves out of jobs.

There is still much to be learned about this new cohort of workers but here’s a start on some basic principles to keep in mind.

Recruiting – Gen Y are civic minded and socially conscious and very aware of the world. They volunteer and feel personally responsible for making a difference in the world. Gen Y is all about choices and meaningful work and social networks. Don’t be put off by the tattoos or piercing, those are considered stylish and/or spiritual.

Motivate – They like to have choices focusing on output not method. They’ll get the job completed according to the deadline but will resent being reminded to. Members of Gen Y are not obsessed with work.Although they want to make good money, it is not what motivates them.

You will find social networks of friends are their preferred environment and they love to be decorated with their iPods, Blackberry’s, and laptops. Realizing anything is possible they are determined to live their best lives now.

Retain – Gen Y is known for gender bending. When creating new policies list the benefits with out assumptions as to which gender will use them (eg. maternity leave).  Don’t be surprised to find they need flex time to compete in some extreme sports activity or to travel. Expanding their experience, education, and mentoring are important to this generation.

This young workforce will job-hop when they see no other choice. They have a reputation for experiencing boredom and frustration with slow-paced environments, traditional hierarchies, and slightly outdated technology.

Telecommuting programs are in great demand allowing Gen Y to work remotely. They are also likely to be boomerang employees. Those who leave and come back, will return knowing the company and culture and bring a new perspective and institutional knowledge which will be an asset.

Trying to keep up with their demands could send any company into a frenzy but remember workplace diversity is not just about culture: it’s about the way people think. Expect to get professional consultation to transform your organization and coaching for your managers. This generation is very different from any other generation the workplace has seen.

Unlike Boomers who lived for their careers, today’s young workers are more interested in making their jobs accommodate their families and personal life. They place a high value on self fulfillment.

As Bruce Tulgan, author of Managing Generation Y, says, “If you thought you saw a clash when Generation X came into the workplace, that was the fake punch. The haymaker is coming now.”

Author bio
Copyright Michelle P Simms, personal development coach. Her ideal client is not defined by a specific profession, but by the passion she has to grow personally and professionally. At http://www.SimmsInternational.com Michelle works with women from all around the globe.

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