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June 19, 2013

Category: ImprovingOneself Understanding Your Image

June 1, 2013

Being Yourself

by Dale Obrochta — Categories: Business, Improving Oneself, Uncategorized — Tags: , , Leave a comment

Wisdom from a Cartoon

I yam what I yam and that’s all that I yam, I’m Popeye the Sailor man (toot, toot)!

Popeye knew exactly who he was. He was not trying to change his image, but instead he was looking to be with people who accepted his character flaws.

You can spend hours each day trying to change your image or you can spend that time connecting with people who have similar image traits. If you are a CEO who likes wearing shorts and a tee shirt to your stockholders meeting, it may be easier for you to associate with other successful CEO’s who run their company in that same manner.

Popeye knew who he was and what he stood for in life. Business executives need to do the same. Define your goals and seek out others who want to achieve the same. Realize we all have faults, we all have problems, and most days we stress on them. Wouldn’t it be easier to work with like-minded people, who understand you and your business?

Why don’t we all down a can of spinach, accept who we are, and work more on finding connections with people rather than trying to change ourselves. Once we understand who we are, it is much easier to define what we want to become.

Popeye found strength in spinach. Where do you find your strength?

April 22, 2013

Back From Fishing

by Dale Obrochta — Categories: Improving Oneself — Tags: , Leave a comment

dalefish(1)Wouldn’t it be relaxing if you could just put up a sign that reads “Gone Fishing”? Put the world on hold, stop to look at the clouds passing overhead, no longer needing to look at a Facebook status. Just relaxing and enjoying the moment.

I have two little boys and, periodically, I have to STOP, and ENJOY. I cannot constantly worry about work, bills, taxes, and status updates. If I do not stop and enjoy, the best things in life will pass me by.

So if you have not taken a break in a while, take one. I did – it has been six months since I posted my last blog. The world did not end like the Mayan calendar, lives went on, and guess what? I am back, focused, and ready to take on more tasks.

So my tip for today is…take a break. Enjoy life, live, laugh…and improve your well-being.

 

September 12, 2012

Solution to a problem

Hiring An Expert To Reach Your Goals

by Dale Obrochta — Categories: Improving Oneself — Tags: Leave a comment

Sometimes we need extra help to move to the next level.  There is nothing wrong with hiring somebody to help you reach your goals.

 

March 20, 2012

Working with Local Businesses

I love working with community leaders and helping to develop a strong brand for any organization.  This week, I will be addressing the Antioch Chamber of Commerce on “How to Enhance Your Brand Through Your Image”.

I’m looking forward to meeting new business leaders getting up at the exhilarating time of 5:00 am. Yes, exhilarating. When you wake up at 5:00 am, you realize that it is a new day, with new people, ideas, adventures and experiences, and a new chance to create an unpoppable image.

 

March 8, 2012

Library-Flag

I Want To Help Your Library

The Illinois politician’s keep cutting the library resources and I feel compelled to help the libraries. I would like to offer Chicago Area Libraries  a free class on How Your Image Communicates to Customers and Staff. This 30-minute presentation intertwines visual art with educational information.

As an entertainer who works with libraries, I feel a responsibility to give back to organizations that are essential to a community.

If you are a library and would like to take advantage of this offer  please contract me (708) 744-0234.

Let’s keep educating the library staff, despite the economic setbacks and Illinois politicians.

Dale Obrochta
Creating an Unpoppable Image for the IL Public Libraries

February 17, 2012

The Enabler

by Dale Obrochta — Categories: Improving OneselfLeave a comment

 

Enabler – Enemy To Completing A Task

Folded laundry in a basket is a enablerWe talk about people being enablers, those who encourage us to do things, mostly things that go against our better judgment or values. However, things can be enablers too.

Just recently, I came to the conclusion that the laundry basket is an enabler. The basket is helpful at bring dirty and clean laundry in and out of the laundry room, it is even good for storing folded laundry. But, this is where in becomes the enabler.

Since everything is folded neatly in the basket we make the bad choice of just leaving it there, in the basket. No sense putting it away, we just move it to a place in the bedroom and leave it.

The tool designed to help improve efficiency in doing laundry, at the same time prevents you from actually finishing the task.

We need to look at the things around us and evaluate if they are actually holding us back from achieve our goal.  Continuing to falling short at a task alters how people view you. Like a race horse, you start off strong, but by the first turn you’re in last place.  That is not an image you want in business.   If a Jockey felt a particular  saddle was preventing the horse from winning the race, he would toss it in the garbage can  immediately.  Why have an object stand in your way of achieving a goal.

Never can keep your office clean? Remove that extra furniture that collects miscellaneous stuff that never gets filed or needs to be discarded. Get a smaller pen holder and toss out the crappie pens that are bad. Why waste time searching through pens that don’t work. Your time is valuable, so toss those old pens out.

After folding the clothes, hand carry them to the drawer. Remove the enabler from the equation, completing the task, be perceived as somebody who completes tasks. That is how a productive image is created.

February 7, 2012

Listen to the Cheerleader

by Dale Obrochta — Categories: Improving Oneself, Inspiration, Motivation — Tags: Leave a comment

“Well done, good job, that a boy, high-five me, you did it” says your most dedicated fan.

We all have that person who’s standing by us no matter what we do.  Sometime they give us the advice like, continue your education or leave a party before it gets out of control.  Some of the advice is bad, like buy that stock, which went belly up.

Yet, it doesn’t matter what we do, they are there with us through-and-through. It is time to pay homage to them, look yourself in the mirror and tell your subconscious “thank you for believing in me.  I know I can be bigger and better like you tell me.  I just need to listen harder and believe in myself”.

When you believe it, you can do it; nothing will stop you from reaching your goal.

With every failure, you learn tenfold.  With every pat on the back you get stronger.  Today is the day that you accept your accolades and continue to do your very best.

January 30, 2012

monday32

Monday’s, Starting off a New Work Week

Monday’s are the breakfasts that fuel the week.

Did you feed your mind this Monday morning? Did you get yourself a good cup of hot coffee, read a spiritual passage, belly up to the breakfast table for a hot meal or did you instantly look for dome and gloom this Monday morning.

You know what I’m talking about; you put on the “cheerful” morning news, instantly check your email for problems, going to Facebook to reading about a friend’s exotic vacation. No wonder you don’t like Mondays.

Monday’s are the days that I plan my week. It sets the pace for the entire week.  Some people start off walking and then try to sprint to the end of the week only to collapse in exhaustion from the stress of life.  Remember the saying; a steady pace will win the race.  That’s what Mondays are for, to set the pace of the week.

Who says you cannot have a fun planning your week.  Make Monday’s about setting the tone for the entire week.  Have a hot breakfast, listen to your favorite music, and take time out in the morning to mentally plan  your week and do not forget to plan the fun stuff too.

Do not burn yourself out, plan luncheons with friends, kids play dates, business meetings, see yourself completing your daily tasks, and plan the needed “me time” into your schedule. Then sit back and listen to all the people complaining about Monday’s. You will soon learn Monday’s aren’t that bad after all.

January 19, 2012

Resistance to Change

by Dale Obrochta — Categories: Improving Oneself, Motivation — Tags: Leave a comment

I, like most people, have some resistance to change. Resistance can hinder improvement just because it involves work.   This year I decided to move my blog to a new web site.  This involved some research on 1) How to do this and 2) Making the time to do it.

Transferring the information from one site to another was not difficult. To do this only took minutes. However, the resistance to do this was strong.  In my mind, this was going to be a monumental task, taking up massive amount of time, but in reality, it wasn’t.  If fact it was fairly simple.

Yet, resistance held me back.  I found reasons why not to work on the blog. Yet as each day went on a voice deep inside my head keep saying, “It’s time to write again”. As days turned to weeks, the voice became clearer with new ideas and thought emerged. Even so, I did not have a place to write them.  I could put them in the old blog, but that just seamed futile.  I would just have to re-post it on the new site later. Resistance was telling me to “do nothing”.  So that’s what I did. I let resistance win.

Days went by and the guilt set in knowing that I had the abilities to move the data and the time.  So why was I letting resistance win.  Resistance never advances a person; it just holds them back from reaching their goal.  My goal is simple, to help people improve their image.  Yet, this cannot happen unless I fight resistance and move the blog.

So today, I concord resistance, in fact you can say, “I kicked its teeth in”.  Not only did I successfully  move the blog, re-registering users, but also made the time to write this blog entry.  Resistance may have slowed me down, but perseverance will keep me going.

November 15, 2011

Explain Your Business Failures

Tell me your war story and I will tell you mine

One of the premises of social media is to create a conversation with your followers.  Some people are really great at striking up a conversation, while others lack social grace and simply ask the wrong questions. Organizations and individuals that are trying to help, motivate, or promote a cause will ask public questions about failures, things you had problems with, what was your most challenging customer?  Their premise is, we can learn from your mistakes.

As the saying goes, misery loves company, so getting people to talk about their business war stories is not difficult.  However, you are not sitting in your living room enjoying a libation and socializing with one individual; you’re telling your story to a community or nowadays the world.

Sensationalism is what drives many people to read a posting and face it, we all want people to read what we write and respond to it. These posts typical have some type of exaggeration, either positive or negative just to make the story more interesting. Strangers reading these posts can now respond in favor or against you.

If you try to write a detailed blog posting explaining everything in detail you will find people will just skim the post, paraphrase your information and then respond.  Some of the responses will have follow-ups correcting about misconceived perceptions drawn by people who did not fully spend the time reading the entire post. The whole process becomes one big mess and you wish you never responded to the post. So the next time you see a question asking for how you failed, skip it.  No need to tarnish your own image, leave that up to somebody who’s not skilled at protecting their image.

© 2013 Understanding Your Image