This month I’m extending a very warm welcome to Julie from Cosmic Workshop, who’s kindly written for Rise & Shine.

Often described by myself and others as a ‘Creative Genius’ I’m delighted to have Julie sharing her thoughts and experiences with the Rise & Shine readers.

So when Jeff asked me to guest blog this month, I thought this is the ideal opportunity to think about the PEOPLE that inspire me and my work.

How often do you sit back and really take notice of who’s ‘had your back’ supported, inspired and loved you that day?

After doing it this morning, I think it shall become a regular occurrence..perhaps an 11eleven11 challenge! 

How could I not put my doting, supportive, encouraging and long-suffering parents right at the top of this list! Pauline and Roy Delaney have let me grow up to believe I could do any damned thing I put my mind to..what could be more inspiring than that growing up?!  I intend to extend the same philosophy to my Jasmine (who is 4 going on 40yrs old!)

Outside of family, Maya Angelou was and is my first and foremost inspiration on many levels.  When I was a teenager I read her series of autobiographies and learned about real survival, real passion, real strength of heart and this has stayed with me through all the times I felt like giving up, they picked my feet up when I started to drag them and gave me faith in humanity when I seriously doubted it…she inspires me to stick at it and take on the whole world! (Muwahahaha!)

My husband inspires me every day, to make little changes to how I approach certain problems and situations, or more often a difficult ‘person’ in order to get the very best from them and of myself.

My friends on Twitter are some of the most inspiring people alive! I honestly believe without their hourly (okay…ahem…5 minutely…) bursts of ideas, comments and views, I would not be where I am now…you are all my first port of call when I get a mental block these day.. Seriously! I’m not going to gush, but you know who you are and I love you all!

I think at this conjecture, you get the point…Think, Thank, Learn, love xxxx

Julie ‘Creative Genius’ Morrisroe

If you’d like to guest write for Rise & Shine then simply get in touch and let me know.

Bye for now

Regards

Jeff

http://www.riseandshinetoday.co.uk

http://www.cosmicworkshop.co.uk

PS. If you haven’t already checked out some other great blogs, please have a look and share your feedback.

Many of you will face challenges in business or in life and hopefully you can draw on the lessons shared here.

Regards
Jeff

Exercise is great for getting the mind working. Whilst running I started thinking about my training for the London Marathon and how the experiences I'm going through, can be converted into simple and valuable LIFE LESSONS. Here's my A-Z of running a marathon: (and LIFE LESSONS) A is for Attitude: Where it starts and ends – it's a choice B is for Belief: If you believe; you can achieve anything C is for Commitment: You get out what you put in D is … Read More

via Rise and Shine's Blog

It’s great to be back sharing some of my recent learnings, after a short break away.

Time flies when you’re having fun and each of knows more today than we did yesterday.

If we each knew today what we’ll learn tomorrow, we’d perhaps make some different decisions.

Here lies the message that I’d like to share with you.

Each of us makes decisions in our lives based on the information that we have at our disposal, and with the best intentions in mind. When was the last time any of you set out to make a wrong decision? Exactly…

With each decision we make comes a consequence. Enjoy the positive consequences and learn from the negative ones. The best thing any of us can keep doing is; making decisions. If any of us wants to continue to grow and develop through life then we must be bold enough to make decisions.

If you’re sat there reading this thinking that you’re not bold enough; then change your cupcake!

Alter the ingredients, change the flavour, work on the presentation.

We all have the ability to alter the thoughts that we have each day.

We all have the ability to change our thoughts and introduce new ones.

We all have the ability to present our thoughts in a different way.

A different way of thinking brings about a different decisions. Different decisions bring about different consequences.

Providing we keep making the best decisions that we can, and keep learning along the way, we’ll ultimately experience new and better consequences.

So there you have it…cupcakes and consequences!

Thanks for reading and have an amazing week

Regards

Jeff

http://11eleven2011.wordpress.com

I’m hoping that Jo and many more of you will continue to write for Rise & Shine during 2011.

Back in January of this year I wrote one of my first blogs titled;

It’s possible that once you have a dream, and believe in yourself, the only thing left is to go and achieve that dream.

A little phrase that is often used in our house and to family, friends and colleagues is;

“never regret the things you do; only the things you don’t”

Little did I know that it would play out with such significance over the last few weeks…!

We’ve been on an amazing journey this last year and tried out lots of new ideas, and approaches. Some have been successful and some didn’t quite work out as planned. All of them have helped us learn and grow both our business and ourselves.

One thing has remained constant – although we may look back and learn from where we go wrong, we have never regretted the bold steps we have taken, but have continued to look forward at how to tackle the next set of challenges.

My role has been to offer support, guidance, and a different perspective, and to make sure that we balanced the books. (see the Playing your part blog post – http://wp.me/pLHLC-7a)

All of a sudden an amazing opportunity came my way. I could ignore it and continue into next year doing the same as this year, or I could grasp the opportunity with both hands and ‘give it a go’.

After lots of soul-searching and pros and cons, it came down to that one little phrase – if I don’t take this and give it 100% then I will always ask myself “what if” and 5 years from now I could really regret not giving myself the chance.

So after 11 ½ years I will be leaving the bosom of M&S Money in early January and joining Bank of America as their new Customer Experience Manager.

In some ways I leave with great sadness, I’ve made lots of friends along the way and care about a lot of people (you know who you are and I won’t lose touch)

I also leave knowing that it’s now my time to grow and challenge myself in the same way that Jeff did this time last year.

It’s comforting to do the same thing day after day, but sometimes you have to take the risk and hope that with it comes the reward.

If you live your life avoiding risk because of the ‘what ifs’, you’ll reach that rocking chair in later life and look back and wonder – what would things have looked like if I had done this or that rather than avoiding the change?

Take the chance – jump into the cold water and see what happens. Keep a safety net close by and always have your plan B…but never be afraid of going for something. Don’t use the excuse of I can’t – didn’t your mum ever tell you “there’s no such thing as cant”
Reframe your mind to; “I will and I can” and see how it changes your life in 2011.

Set those goals – my 11 will look very different to Jeff’s – but they will be mine!

Check out the 11eleven11 site for more details:

http://wp.me/p1emfM-1

Give yourself the time over Christmas and New year to think about how you want your life to be next year – and if the opportunity comes your way – then don’t let it pass you by – reach out and grab it with both hands – you never know where you’ll end up!

Regards
Jo

http://www.riseandshinetoday.co.uk

Before we get started I’d like to say a big thank you to all the people who wrote a ‘guest blog’ for Rise & Shine during November. To Jo, Jasleen, Emma, Lindsay and KickStart co-presenter Emma…you’ve inspired many people over the last few weeks.

In fact, I’ve been so inspired myself, I’d like to encourage more of you to write for Rise & Shine in the future.

A break does wonderful things for the mind, the body and the soul; and the batteries are fully re-charged and raring to go.

This week I’d like to share with you the importance of ‘taking time out and enjoying the view’

When was the last time that you took time out and reflected on your life to date?
If you’ve had a holiday or break this year; did you really make the most of…your time out?

When the weather in the UK is cold (like it is now), you may complain about it and take on a different attitude for that day. Do you then make the most of…the days when the sun is shining?

There may be people in your workplace who you don’t really like or get on with. From time to time you may have meetings with them. Do you make the most of…those meetings even if you don’t like the other person?

In business you will come into contact with many people and many opportunities over time. Do you make the most of…your opportunities or let some slip by?

If you have children then you will have time with your children to play and to read and to cuddle. Do you make the most of…this precious time that you and they have?

Life is full of opportunities for you to make the most of. Whatever you’re doing with your life, take time out to reflect and ask yourself whether or not you’re making the most of it. Don’t be afraid to ask yourself if you’re enjoying the view.

If you’re not enjoying or want to change your view then you may want to consider getting involved with 11 Eleven 2011. Set yourself 11 Goals for 2011 and start 2011 with a real focus and energy.

Join myself and many others in making a difference next year, and the charities that we’ll be raising money for; Hannah Banana http://braintumourtrust.co.uk/helping-us/groups/hannah-louise-jones-fund
, Children’s Adventure Farm Trust and Hope House.

Enjoy the coming weeks and I’ll be back next week to share more of my learning’s.

Thank you for all your continued support and feedback for the Rise & Shine blog

regards

Jeff

http://www.riseandshinetoday.co.uk

A big thank you to Lindsay for last weeks popular blog; and a warm welcome to Emma Foden from Dynamic Fitness for writing this weeks blog.

Today I am……

….going to get better

….going to start exercising

….going to stop eating junk food

… not going to touch another drop of alcohol

Today I am going to make better choices!

How often do you hear yourself saying something like this? And how often do you say it to yourself and never really change your habits or make it last?

The good thing about saying a statement like one of the ones from above is that you have made a conscious decision to change and have established a starting point.

Now you need to find out ‘how’ you get there. Knowing ‘what to do’ and doing it are two very different things.

It’s not what we know but how we apply that knowledge in our day-to-day life, the choices we make and the actions we take – that will make the biggest difference.

Our lifestyle completely determines how we look and feel – so in order to look and feel the way you want to, a lifestyle change is needed.

If your lifestyle habits will not support a positive change then no amount of exercise or nutrition programme will make a difference and get you the results you dream of.

“Positive Change” can be small and simple

Be aware of the choices you want to make and build on one change at a time to gain control and create a lifestyle change which will lead to long-lasting results.

5 simple things you can think about starting TODAY

* Eat breakfast every day
* Move as much as possible all day. Even some early morning exercises or stretches are a great way to start the day!
* Change your workout or your mode of exercise if you have been doing the same thing for 3 weeks or longer – your body adapts quickly and needs to be pushed more if you want to continuously change
* Eat protein and a fruit/vegetable with each meal/snack
* Live each day as if it were on purpose….actions show your priorities

All change comes from taking action – so start today and make a positive lifestyle change.

Have a great week and thank you to Emma for sharing her thoughts.

More details on what Emma does can be found at http://www.dynamicfitnessuk.com

Please pass on the blog, your comments and your feedback (as always)

Regards

Jeff

http://www.riseandshinetoday.co.uk

A big thank you to Emma from Belifehappy for writing last weeks blog; and a warm welcome to Lindsay from Reasons to be Cheerful

Success

When my amazing friend Jeff asked me to write this blog I was very grateful he is extremely inspirational to me, a real success story.
That led me to think about what success is, is it a successful business? How do you measure a successful business? No, lots of people with what would appear to be extremely successful businesses do not see themselves as successful.

Is it having lots of money? How do you measure lots of money?
No, lots of people who are millionaires don’t see themselves as successful.

Is it being thin and beautiful? (A big one for me) How thin? How beautiful?
No, there are many people who are thin and beautiful who do not see themselves as successful.

It then appeared obvious to me that there was no universal measure of success, that it is something different to each one of us and that the goalposts keep moving, as soon as we reach the first measure of success, we set the next measure. No wonder we never feel we are successful!

How do we get that elusive feeling of success that we are all chasing?

I see many people in the course of my life who don’t see themselves as successful; this has a very negative impact on their life.
This is mainly because they are comparing their own lack of success against somebody else who they think is doing better than them, in this way they will never see themselves as a success.

What stops us from feeling successful? It is that little inner voice, that seed of doubt that can paralyse us and stop us taking action, then make us feel bad when we take no action.

When I realised this, I then realised I have a choice, I can listen to that little inner voice and live a life that I don’t want and wouldn’t choose, or I can acknowledge that inner voice, then go out to prove it wrong!

Start with life’s little successes, the fact that you are able to see the new day, get up out of bed, spend time with those you love, and communicate with others. Celebrate the fact that you are not dead!

Celebrate those achievements, there are many who would be happy with those ‘small’ successes!
Once you have experienced the feeling of success, go out and find the success in your life, it is there when you look for it.

We are all successful when we celebrate the achievements we make every day, go out and have a successful day, you know you want to!

Many thanks to Lindsay for sharing her thoughts, and have a great week

Regards

Jeff

http://www.riseandshinetoday.co.uk

http://www.dynamicfitnessuk.com

This week sees the 3rd of my ‘guest blogs’ in a row; written by Emma Lannigan from Belifehappy.

Once upon a time there was a little girl who dreamt of being ‘someone’; someone who wrote. At 8 years old this little girl joined the press pack and excitedly opened her membership envelope the day it arrived through her letterbox. Her Headmaster had commented on her story book and said ‘what a wonderful imagination’ she had. One day she said to herself… she would be a writer.

Aged 10 years old the same little girl was in the playground at playtime with her friends. Her friends with older sisters and brothers commented how cool it was to drink and smoke. The little girl replied that one day when she was going to have a family she would make sure she was the fittest and healthiest she could be.

At aged 15 years old some years of writing later, the little girl started to wonder if her dreams would ever come true. Her grades were not as good as she’d hoped and that were expected. Still, the not so little girl and more young woman, went on and studied English A’Level, along with Sociology and Business Studies. You see this little girl had in her mind when she wanted to be ‘someone’ she wanted to be someone who helped others, and Sociology was the only A’Level she could take which was her bargaining tool to perhaps enter into Social Work if not into Business.

By the age of 17, this young lady received confidence in her writing, taking home a grade A for an english language piece. The only barrier was that her english literature grades were not as expected. She was told she wouldn’t make it as a journalist.

Years later and journals piled up in her wardrobe. This woman still in her heart wanted to write. Her consolation being she wrote everyday promoting brands and businesses. She did not help anyone and smoked 20 a day and binge drank at the weekends. That was what was expected.

10 years later, her third decade, this woman still had a dream, which, by each moment, felt like it was being torn apart. Then one day something happened which changed her perspective on life. She had dreams, but what was she doing to achieve those dreams? Would they happen if she carried on as she was? No. She started writing more, more and more. She found and led herself to new friends and learned new skills which would help people. She wrote blogs , and these blogs helped others, while she stopped smoking and binge drinking. Was she becoming the dream?

It can take as long as it takes or it can take a lifetime to achieve our dreams. The magic is in the trust and believing you CAN and WILL achieve your dreams. This woman is still not a paid or published writer, however, she does write everyday now, she leads the healthiest life she has ever lived (including achieving a huge physical challenge she took part in) and everyday her aim is of inspiring and motivating people. Each day. today. tomorrow. everyday.

Each step is movement. Life being a dance. You might take steps forward then need to side step, quick step and even step back… however, as long as you keep dancing, we keep enjoying the journey, the learning and the achievement.

Get dancing and magic your dreams

A big thank you to Emma for writing this weeks blog, and find out more at http://www.belifehappy.com

Have a great week and please keep passing the blog on…

Regards

Jeff

PS. I’ll be back in December and if you’d like to be a guest blogger, then please get in touch

This weeks blog has been written by a good friend of mine, Jasleen from Scholar Coaching.

I recently took my five-year-old boy to his karate class and on the back of his Grading and Achievement book was the formula for success.

Now I think if a five-year old has the capacity to understand this formula and apply it to his sport then we all can learn something from this. If the key to success hid in a scientific formula that was to be followed meticulously and with great precision and care, wouldn’t you want to know about it?

If someone gave you a method to follow and it was fool-proof so that if you followed the exact recipe and instructions, you would succeed, wouldn’t you want to be in on this?

I apply this formula to my coaching with students at schools, and watch them implement their formula and take action on their success. There are too many of us out there who have all the ability to succeed in what ever we want to do, but just don’t have ‘the formula’. What about those of you who told yourselves you don’t need a formula and can just rely on talent? Well nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent alone will not.

For those of you who have a plan in mind to do something in your life, this will mean something to you. For those of you who don’t, just wait until there is something that you really want to do and know that this information has been noted in your subconscious and you will be able to recall it again when the time is right.

Step 1 – Have a goal – Without a target to aim for you cannot reach a goal. Write down what you want because you are more likely to achieve it if you write it down and can see it.

Step 2 – Plan – This is the most important part of the formula. Have three different ways of doing something to reach the same goal. If one fails, then you have two more to rely on while you are changing the first one to a better plan.

Step 3 – Have a success coach – Choose someone who is close to you or cares about what you are doing to help you stay true to your goal. There is no shame in asking someone for help when you need it.

Step 4 – Continuously review your progress – Always look at what you are doing and how much progress you are making. If something is not working, change it. If something is going well, reward yourself.

Good luck to those of you who are planning to change your life for the better. You can be shown the path to wisdom, but it is only you that can take the first step. Ready…….jump!

A big thank you to Jasleen for writing this weeks blog.

You can find out more about Jasleen and her business at http://www.scholarcoaching.com

Regards

Jeff

PS. I haven’t gone anywhere. I’m working on KickStart for the next 4 weeks. Check out and ‘like’ our Facebook page with the new KickStart logo at:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/KickStart-on-RedShift-Radio/142012905841798