As 2020 draws to a close, it would be remiss of me not to sign off with a final post sharing words from a musical that I was listening to while running.

My bravery in sharing that I was listening to the music from Aladdin is probably the first Small Act I would like you to adopt.

Bravery – the ability to be who you are and bring your magic to the universe in your unique way.

And now for some of the words that I hope will inspire a positive entry into 2021

The end of year raises many emotions for people. And while 2019 is not quite over, my final post for the year always has me reflect on the lessons I have learnt from my clients, friends, suppliers, family and the world around me.

As a personal branding coach, I am privileged to work closely with a diverse range of individuals and teams.

People share their business and personal reasons for wanting to build their brand. And while there is no shortage of information on how to build a brand, the most stand out message I wish to leave you with is this…

When building your brand - Be authentic.

Welcome to Small Act Major Impact.

There are so many ways you can create an impact no matter how overwhelming life becomes:

In your business.In your life.In the wider community.

As I went about deciding which shirt to wear this morning, I started envying Steve Jobs’ black skivvy and jeans approach to daily living. It was in this green moment I remembered having read a fascinating article published in the Leading Edge Journal by Dr Joel Hoomans which declared we make up to 35,000 decisions each and every day.

By now you would know that I run listening to musicals. Yesterday the song “Who am I anyway?” came blaring through my headphones. For those who don’t know the words, here they are –  Who am I anyway?

The coaltion’s election win in May was a shock to almost all Australians.

While there has been much post analysis regarding the result, what remains abundantly clear, is no matter how adept advisors and politicians are at cultivating messages, sometimes what is being said isn’t being heard.

At the risk of outing my age range, I am going to share a story that illustrates how we can bring “Flip It” thinking into our everyday business and personal lives.

It’s interesting how themes come up in your life.  

Over the last few months I have been coaching a variety of business people from all walks of life and sadly the theme of dealing with toxic people has become a regular topic.

At What Cost? 

Saying yes is at a cost.

Saying no is at a cost.

Saying nothing is at a cost.

Every time we say yes to something it means we are saying no to something else. And most of the time, it is at a cost……………

It was only a few years ago that I attended a Social Media training course where the presenter described LinkedIn as Facebook with a Tie.

A few weeks ago a friend of mine celebrated her 50th birthday. She finished her speech with this beautiful poem.

“Tell me the facts and I’ll learn. Tell me the truth and I’ll believe. But tell me a story and it will live in my heart forever.” Native American Proverb

A colleague of mine was sharing how her daughter is terrible at making decisions. While we all know the effect that deferring decisions can have on our lives, from a business perspective, this can have a major impact on your bottom line.

I recently had a conversation with a woman I greatly admire. She shared with me how she had worked hard for many years trying to play catch up with her business to keep her family fed and the bills paid.

“It’s really hard for a grown man to strip himself back and admit fault. He went away and did that. He’s shown openness to the group. He’s led by example. We tried to follow and it’s fed through the group” – Jack Riewoldt, Richmond Football Club’s Co-Vice-Captain.

Many years ago I was enamoured by the messages of a famous sales guru. I bought his tapes, distributed them to the sales team at the company where I was working and saw him live when he toured Australia.

Last week I phoned a large multinational where someone answered the phone by saying, “Hi. This is Lauren, how can I help you?”

A colleague of mine returned from living overseas where her husband was working in banking. Upon their return, he started a Managed Fund in Australia with a close friend that he had been working with for years.

I have a serious crush.

While you may be forgiven for thinking it is on my husband, Bradley Cooper or Albert Einstein’s brain, on this occasion I am referring to something else.

“One singular sensation, every little step she takesOne thrilling combination, every move that she makesOne smile and suddenly nobody else will doYou know you’ll never be lonely with you-know-who”