Efficient communication is key therefore, affirmations for communication will help you learn how to get your point across in a clear manner and get back the intended response
Brian Tracy is one of the world’s top professional speakers and has delivered more than 5,000 talks and seminars.
He is a self made millionaire and is the chairman and CEO of Brian Tracy International, a company specializing in the training and development of individual and organization.
In his book ” 21 Success Secrets of Self-Made Millionaire” he teaches you how to achieve financial independence faster and easier than you ever thought possible. You will learn the secrets of millionaires and use them to work for you too.
Below is the list of the 21 secrets. Hope you are inspired and motivated to make them an everyday practice.
1. Having or showing a confident and forceful personality.
2. It is the quality of being self-assured and confident without being aggressive
3. Behaving confidently and being able to say in a direct way what you want or believe
4. Disposed to or characterized by bold or confident statements and behavior
To be assertive is to find a balance between being passive and being aggressive. An assertive person know how to express their thoughts and opinions and get what they want without stepping on the rights of others.
Passiveness
To be passive is “to accept or allow what happens or what others do, without active response or resistance“: you will never stand up for your rights. when you are passive you tend not to believe in yourself or abilities: Which in most cases is lack of Self-confidence.
Characteristics of passiveness
Saying YES When you are passive, you tend to say yes to requests from other people regardless of whether the request is fair or not. This is most likely because you want to please others or you afraid of saying no.
Fearfulness A passive attitude makes you afraid of stating how you feel. This is due to the fact that you don’t want to anger or offend others. The fear makes you feel like you do not have right to express your thoughts or opinions. This results in fear of authoritative figures, criticism by others, fear of returning damaged goods, fear of chasing your dreams among others.
Frequent apologizing When a passive individual speaks or expresses their opinions, they tend to apologize due to the fact that they do not think their thought are valuable. This in return causes others to devalue their opinions
Aggressiveness
On the other hand to be aggressive is “to act or behave in a forceful way.” By using aggression you disregard the right and opinions of others. You will come across as pushy or a bully. People with this character often take things without asking: I call this negative aggressiveness.
On the other hand, being positively aggressive makes you:
Act with confidence
Take on huge responsibilities
Accomplish objectives
Achieve your goals
Get people to take action
If you can be aggressive while respecting the thoughts, rights and opinions of others: then I would term that character as “assertive aggressiveness”.
Being assertive helps you to become self confident and this in return helps you to express yourself and be positively driven on a day to day basis. Other benefits include:
Increase in self esteem
Greater respect for yourself and others
Understanding your rights and asserting them
Better decision making skills
Develop the skills to compliment and give feedback
Developing a proactive behavior to manage aggressive and passive behaviors in others
How To Become Assertive
Decide to become assertive. Make the decision to become assertive and start practicing by yourself, in a mirror, with a trusted one or visualizing how you will respond.
Know and value yourself. In order to develop assertiveness you must first know yourself; Understand your communication style, know your values, know your rights, assess your behavior.
Express yourself with confidence. speak out your thoughts, opinions and wants with confidence, after knowing what you want take the initiative and set goals to achieve your desires.
Say NO When necessary. Say no when you know you cannot perform or carry through the request or task you have been asked to do. If you find it difficult think of the consequences of saying yes: in most cases saying yes will result in stress and anger. The best practice is to be brief, clear and honest as to why you said no
Be Polite but firm. Do not raise your voice or use abusive language: speak with respect and mean what you say. If you go back on your word, chances are you will not be taken serious so be firm and stand your ground.
Stay Calm and relaxed. Have respect for others while you speak with them; breathe normally and deeply, look the person in the eye and speak with your normal voice.
Be clear and to the point. Say what you mean and mean what you want to say: Be clear and go straight to the point, avoid long unnecessary explanations
Use “I” statements. When speaking stick to statement that include “I”. E.g I think , I will, I feel. Using these statements affirms that you are willing to take responsibility for your actions.
Listen actively. Listen to understand instead of listening to reply; try and understand the other person’s point of view without interrupting them but giving them your full attention.
Use assertive body language. Communication is verbal and non-verbal so do remember to match you body posture with your assertive communication; sit uprightly, maintain regular eye contact, uncross your arms and legs, keep your voice calm, maintain a neutral facial expression and act confident.
What is a SWOT analysis? A SWOT analysis is a study or method used to find out the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of an individual, project, institution or business. It involves figuring out the internal and external factors that will benefit you or hinder your attainment of a certain goal or object.
History of SWOT Analysis
The history of SWOT analysis is credited to Alfred Humphrey, who led a research project at Stanford University in the 1960s and 1970s using data from many top companies. This was done in order to find out why corporate planning failed. The results of the research identified certain key areas and the tool and the tool used to explore these areas was called “SOFT analysis”. Alfred Humphrey and the team assigned the following definitions to the tool; What was good in the present was Satisfactory, what was good in the future was an Opportunity, what was bad in the present was a Fault and what was bad in the future was a Threat (S.O.F.T).
A SWOT analysis is a great tool to use to gain an in depth understanding of a business, organization or an individual. There are numerous ways and and methods as to how the SWOT analysis can be used, below are some of them.
In order to conduct an efficient SWOT analysis you have to gather information and be realistic with the answers you are get from the information.
This can be done through surveys, research or feedback. You can ask your friends, family, employees and others you can trust.
You will then make a list of all your strengths and weaknesses, then find out what opportunities and threats exist.
After identifying your SWOTS’s you will then select the most important ones and formulate plan as to how to put them to use to benefit you or the intended target.
Strengths
Strengths are the positive attributes that you possess, they are internal and are withing your control. If you are a business or organization these will include your assets, employees, targets, etc
Weaknesses are the things that you lack or are holding you back, they are also internal and are the areas where you need improvement.
List Of Weaknesses
↓↓⇓↓↓⇓↓↓
What are you bad at?
What skills do you lack?
What beliefs hold you back?
Which contacts are holding you down?
Where do you keep failing?
Affirmations For Daily Use
Opportunities
Opportunities are external factors that can enable you to progress and prosper when grasped and followed through. They can appear and come through various ways: expected and unexpected. So always be prepared and on the lookout for them
List Of Opportunities
↓⇓↓⇓↓
Can you spot trends?
Is there a need for your skills?
What can you do better than your competitors?
A change in legislation.
Is there a chance to improve your knowledge?
Threats
Threats are external factors that may become obstacles to your success or chosen goal. They are out of your control and can put you or your business at risk. The best way to tackle threats is to have a back up plan just in case.
List Of Threats
↓↔↓↔↓↔↓
What obstacles do you face?
Changes in legislation
Emerging competitors
Change in trends
Fears holding you back
Example Of a Swot Analysis
Below is an image illustrating how you should conduct and expect a SWOT analysis to to look like.
After conducting your Swot Analysis you will have a list from your research and self-study. Make sure you are honest when answering the questions as this is for your sole benefit.
Identify and prioritize the mostimportant of the results and start making plans around each result on how to achieve them or tackle them.
Look at how you can develop your strengths or use them to grasp an opportunity. You can also brainstorm on how to use your strengths to tackle your weaknesses or threats.
Examine your weaknesses and evaluate how they might be an obstacle when presented with an opportunity or threat.
Example of a plan
Opportunities
Threats
Strengths
How can you use the strengths identified to take advantage of the opportunities available?
Can you use your strengths to tackle any threats if necessary?
Weaknesses
What weaknesses can be an obstacle when dealing with opportunities?
How can you minimize the weaknesses in time of threats?
Summary
A SWOT Analysis is a great tool to use and conduct in order to identify known and hidden strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
It may come easy for some and impossible for others and if you are definitely afraid of doing it: DO IT.
You will discover skills, gifts and powers you didn’t know you possessed. It will boost your confidence and make you prepared to tackle any problem or issue that life throws at you.
Welcome One and All. I am GRATEFUL for your Time and Energy. Its an Honor on our behalf for YOU to visit this site
The Kingdom Of Heaven Is Within You
The man who is certain to advance is the one who is too big for his place, and who has a clear concept of what he wants to be; who knows that he can become what he wants to be and who is determined to BE what he wants to be.