Super Stylist

Is it still working?

“Is it still working?”

It doesn’t matter what the ‘it’ in question is. Whether it’s the way you do consultations, the way you recruit new team members or the way you market your business. The question is, “Is it still working?”

Because, sometimes the easy option is to, ‘keep doing what you're doing just because it's what you've always done’.  

But what worked ‘then’, maybe isn’t working anymore. And if that’s the case you need to question whether ‘it’s’ still serving you in the same way that it once did.

And if the answer is “NO!” Then that acceptance is the first step to changing what you do and therefore changing the outcome.

But it first starts by asking yourself the question and then giving yourself an honest answer. Not blaming, not justifying and not making excuses. Just an acceptance, that ‘it’s not working anymore!’

I once read that the first step to getting a ‘break through’ is having a ‘break with’. I take that as meaning that if you’re looking for a ‘breakthrough’, that you first need to have a ‘break with’ the way you are currently thinking or doing things. 

Once you’ve acknowledged that ‘it’s not working’ and that you need to change something, then you are already moving forward.

The next step is to brainstorm, either by yourself, or with your partner, or your team, ‘what might be some alternatives ways of achieving the outcome you want?’

Now, you are no longer stuck, you’re moving in the right direction. Keep going!

You’ve got this!

Thank you for watching…

Have a great week!

Top 10 tips to be the best assistant!

Almost everyone at some point in their career is an assistant to someone else. It's an incredibly important job, so what does it take to be the best assistant? Here's my top 10 list

1. Go the extra mile

Do more than what’s expected of you, whether it’s for clients, colleagues or your boss. Exceed everyone’s expectations and you’ll stand out from the pack.

2. Push yourself outside of your comfort zone. 

It’s easy to reach a point in life where you do what you know and what is safe and predictable. But then you wake up one day and find that you are in a rut, with your work, with your own appearance, and with your attitude. Never be afraid to push yourself outside of your comfort zone, to try new things, new techniques and a new way of looking at things.

3. Anticipate and use your initiative.

When you work in a busy salon having assistants that think of what you need, before you need it, makes life so much easier for your colleagues and the experience for the client so much better. 

4. Don’t just focus on what you are going to get…

Focus on what you will become in the process. When you are an assistant, or just starting out on any career path it’s inevitable that you won't be earning a huge amount of money. But the education you will be getting, [sometimes without even being aware that you’re getting it] is where the real value and future earning potential is.

5. Be the ultimate professional.

Be on time, be polite, be discreet, be courteous, be immaculately presented.

6. Be passionate. 

Hairdressing can be a lot of fun but it can also be a lot of hard work so it’s important that you love what you do. Being passionate is key to getting opportunities and getting you through the tough times.

7. Be a life long learner!

You are in a ‘change industry’ and the change never stops, the learning never stops. Embrace change, learn new techniques, learn old techniques, learn new fashions and new ways of thinking.

8. Be humble.

The most successful people in any calling don’t turn into out of control ego maniacs. No matter what heights you scale remember where you came from, show humility and don’t get too big for your boots!

9. Invest in yourself.   

If you are an assistant, don’t wait for someone else to make you successful, invest both time and money into your own professional development, spend your own money, buy books or listen to MP3’s, attend shows and seminars it’s no one else's job to make you successful.

10. Be thankful.

Someone has given you an opportunity, someone employed you, invested time and money in developing you. Trust that they do things with integrity and will treat you fairly and with dignity. You may not always like the decisions that they make, but trust that they have an overview of the business that you don’t and that they make decisions for the good of the business. There may come a day when it is time for you to leave, and when and if that time does come, do it honourably, and be thankful for the opportunity that was given to you. 

That’s my top 10 tips to being the best assistant and I promise that if you embrace them you will be well on the way to becoming a ‘SuperStylist’, that’s the term I use to define highly productive and well paid hairdressers and that’s what I wish for you. 

Thank you for watching…

5 tips to build your client base.

“What’s the fastest way to build my column?”

That’s often the question, the end game, the purpose, the reason or result of why we do what we do… Here are my top 5 tips.

1. Master the techniques

Cutting and colouring hair is a skill, and like all skills, with the right level of determination, dedication, discipline and humility you can master the skills that you need to succeed over time.

We live in a world where there is plenty of technical and creative education available and much of it is freely available on youtube. Alternatively, work with people who are better than you, and learn from them, and practice until you master the skills.

Ultimately, no matter how well you score in the rest of this list your success at building your clientele will live and die by your ability to cut and colour hair and to get the referrals and repeat business because you do a good job. So step 1 ‘mastering technique’ is essential.

2. Build relationships

I don’t care how good you think you are, but believe me, your clients can get their haircut elsewhere by someone else. So what keeps those clients coming back month after month, and hopefully year after year, is the relationship that exist between the client and the hairdresser.

All too often when I visit a salon as a client I am treated as a ‘commodity’. In other words, there is no attempt made to build a relationship with me.

The most simple way to start that process of building relationships is to introduce yourself by name and use the clients name in normal conversation. Don’t overdo it, but remember, I can get the haircut elsewhere, but I can only get the relationship with you, with you.

So don’t underestimate step 2 the importance of building relationships.

3. Deliver a great experience consistently

Hand in hand with the great haircut and the relationship is ‘the experience’ that the client has. From the greeting to the refreshments, the music, the magazines, the conversations [or lack of] you must be able to deliver a consistent experience that is system dependent to match the experience that is in-line with your brand values.

Do not underestimate the importance of step 3, ‘delivering a great experience’.

4. Use technology as a tool

The biggest change in the way we build a full column of loyal clients has been in how we use technology. Digital marketing and all it encompasses from the salon website and apps to online booking and using social media has been a complete game changer.

It’s not that the marketing message has changed that much, but how we deliver that message, how we build and nurture relationships by using technology especially social media as a tool has completely revolutionised the process of building your column.

So step 4 is make sure that you learn to use social media effectively. 

5. Rebook

I’m a huge advocate of rebooking your clients back in for their next appointments before they leave the salon.

I know that rebooking is not necessarily right for every business model, for example, if your salon is in a hotel or tourist area or perhaps if you’re a salon that doesn't take appointments and works on a walk-in basis.

But for most hairdressers, if you actively get your clients to rebook their next appointments before they leave it will have a huge impact on how busy you are.

Thank you for watching…

If this has been helpful and you want more tips on building your column read or listen to my book GROW 1 Super Stylist.

Have a great week! 

Don’t be average!

Don’t be average!

One of the most rewarding experiences is when you see the next generation of young hairdressers coming through. The next batch of 20 year olds settling in and finding their way with a career in hair.

For me it’s such a privileged position to stand at the front of a room of hairdressers and be able to positively influence and grow their understanding of the possibilities that a career in the hairdressing profession can bring.

When you see the lights go on in someones eyes, when they write heartfelt messages and say that they can’t wait to get back to the salon and try out their new found skills.

When they say that they “get it” that they have seen another way, a better way, when their understanding of the potential that lies ahead of them, and within them, to succeed on many levels as hairdressers is awakened. It’s brilliant.   

Regardless of whether it’s being a busy stylist ‘behind the chair’ or the many other career possibilities that will all typically begin by sweeping the floor and folding towels in a salon, hairdressing can be a great career.

Be anything, but average…

I know that not everyone that starts out in a hairdressing career will last the distance. I know it’s not easy, I never said it was.

Some of them just don’t have what it takes. For others, hairdressing is a stepping stone to something else. Some ‘want it all’ today, but don’t want to put in the hours and hours of effort required to get it. And some, simply never want to be more than average.

Average in their commitment, average in their expectations, average in their resilience, average in their effort, average in their determination. Average at everything.

I once asked the late Vidal Sassoon “What is the best bit of advice you would give to the average hairdresser? his answer “Be anything but average!”

Average is not rewarding…

By definition “average” means like most people. So if the goal is to be anything but average don’t be like most people. Do what the average hairdresser doesn’t do!

If the average hairdresser doesn’t set goals… then set goals.

If the average hairdressers doesn’t read books… then read books …preferably mine!

If the average hairdresser doesn’t continually attend education courses, then make sure you are always furthering your education.

If the average hairdresser is waiting for someone else to motivate them, then be self motivated, hold yourself to a higher standard.

Average is not very rewarding. The average hairdresser doesn’t earn a good income. But there are many hairdressers who earn a great income. Why? Well, it’s because they do more than most, they do more than the average.

I don’t just mean they do more clients, or do more colour or retail etc. But they have more commitment, more passion, more self motivation, more vision, more determination.

They may or may not be the best at ‘doing' hair in the salon, but you can be sure they never stop trying and they recognise that technical and creative ability is only half of what is needed to be really successful.   

The fact that you are watching this means that you are not the average hairdresser… the average one wouldn’t bother. You are not average, congratulations! Stick at it, hold yourself to a higher standard, commit to growth. Commit to becoming more than you already are. Commit to being anything but average!

So what are some practical next steps

Brainstorm with your team:

What three things can we do this week that the average hairdresser doesn’t?

What is average productivity for hairdressers in our salon and how can we grow it?

What is the average wage in our salon and how can we increase it?

Thank you for watching…

Have a great week! 

Where did your clients go?

Where did they go?

Retention is such an important word in the hair and beauty business. “You don't necessarily become the best most successful and well paid hairdresser by doing the best haircuts. No, you become the best and most successful hairdresser by doing the most haircuts” And for that to happen you need to keep the clients you have coming back. ‘That’s Client retention’.

As consumers it is worthwhile reflecting on the fact that most of us change whom we are doing business with because of the process of doing business and not the end result. Let me explain.

Statistics

I am always sceptical about quoting statistics and the validity of them.  But I also always say to myself, “But what if it is true, what if the statistics that are being quoted are correct?” So on that basis of not being able to confirm the validity or source, I want to share these statistics with you. 

As consumers the reasons we chop and change who we do business with are as follows:

5% of the time we change because it is no longer convenient, For example, if we were talking about clients changing salons, statistically they change because they have moved house or job so it’s no longer convenient to go back to that salon.

Then, 15% of the time we change because we are not happy with the quality of the product or service. So in a hairdressing context 15% no longer comeback because they didn’t like the cut or colour.

Then 15% of the time we change because of price. So, the client has decided that they can get the same else where atvs lower price.

Then, 17% of the time we change for no reason at all, in other words there is no loyalty, the client views the haircut or colour as a commodity and they can get it anywhere.

But the overwhelming reason, 48% of the time the reason we change is because of a poor or indifferent experience….

The Experience

In a salon context what was that bad experience? Was it being kept waiting?  Was it someone else’s lipstick on the coffee cup? Or was it being sat down at a workstation that hadn’t been cleaned? Or having appointments constantly changed, or Hair down the back of your neck? Or did you felt you weren’t being listened to but were being taken for granted? Or maybe it was always being put on hold when you call up? Or a Colour stain on your collar? … the list could go on but an overwhelming percentage of consumers change based on a poor or indifferent experience.

Exercise

Sit down with your team and draft up a list of bullet points that cover every aspect of a client’s journey when dealing with your salon from when they first step inside the door until they leave with their new haircut and colour.

Cover every point from how the phone is answered, how clients are greeted, how the consultations are to be done, how refreshments are offered and presented. How clients are gowned up, the shampoo procedure etc

Discuss define and document what “best practice” procedure is for every point you have written down, train everyone in how to achieve the desired standards, implement and as the manager follow-through to make sure that it being done by everyone every time.

If 48% of people change who they do business because of a poor or indifferent service experience, that’s where your attention needs to be.

Thanks for watching.

Good luck!

What are we really selling?

You’re not really selling shampoo!

‘The professional beauty market is flooded with great products’. And today, as consumers we are spoilt for choice, so whilst the great product is a great start, it’s really just the beginning. 

As consumers we live in a world of over supply. Whether it’s cars, airlines, hotels, clothing, coffee shops or hair product, we are spoilt for choice! Quiet simply, “As consumers we can get the product [whatever it is] elsewhere”, and sometimes at a lower price and quicker and more conveniently!

So what is it that we are really selling?

‘People!’

I love the expression, ‘People buy people first!’ Because that’s the perfect expression of what is happening. If I can get ‘the product’ elsewhere, then it’s not just about the product, it’s the ‘Relationship’ around the product and the ‘Experience’ you have in dealing with the company and the person that’s selling it that becomes your point of difference.

That’s what we are really selling, ‘people, and the relationships and the experience' that you have with the people and the company that you are dealing with.

“The relationship” part is all about your ability to connect with people, the level of empathy that you can create with people, your communication skills, the energy or passion that you have for what you doing

Relationships are about having integrity, genuinely caring for people, sincerity, discretion, attention to detail, courtesy, intelligence, charm, and flexibility…  Relationships are about your ability to build trust and rapport. That’s what you are selling! And all that is every bit as important in determining our business success as doing a perfect graduation in a haircut or an amazing colour job.

So after the product and the relationships the third component is the “The Experience”. The Experience is how you do business. The processes involved in how you and the others on your team interact with clients and those that come into contact with your business, so that there is a consistent brand experience. So how do you do that? I think it’s a 4 step process.

Step 1:

Step 1. Is that you need to start by defining what sort of in-salon experience you want your clients to have and matching it to your client’s needs and expectations. For example that will be things like, how clients are to be greeted, how consultations are done, how refreshments are offered, even how complaints are handled. Ask yourself, “How would you do those things, what would best practices look like, sound like and feel like?

Once you have defined what you want the clients in-salon experience to be, the challenge is making it consistent, so that no matter who is dealing with a client in the salon, the client has the same experience, the same level of service, commitment and professionalism, every time. And that takes us the next step.

Step 2:

Step 2. Is the process of making the service ‘consistency’ a reality. So after defining what you want that experience to look like, sound like, feel like, then you need to write it down and perhaps use images to define it. The goal is to make it a system, because if it’s not a system it will not be consistent, as it will be at the whim or discretion of the person that the client is in contact with.

In other words it will literally be determined by who it is, their up-bringing and their personal life experiences, and how they are feeling at the time. Think of it like a making a recipe for a cake. This is the cake we are going to make, these are the ingredients that are needed, and these are the steps you need to follow in putting them together. So now, if someone else follows the recipe they will likely get the same ‘cake’ or the same result.

After writing all the steps down and capturing it with pictures and maybe even video it’s now a system, and can be replicated by other people whether you’re there or not. That takes us to the next step.

Step 3:

Step 3 is following it up with training. Everyone on the team needs to be taken through the system to make sure that they understand it, and can follow the steps. This might involve roleplaying, or practicing it in front of someone else who can point out any inconsistencies and what improvements are needed and answering any questions that the person being trained has.

When you are happy that you have the training step completed, that then takes us to the next step.

Step 4:

Step 4 is ‘implementation’ and follow-through. Now, just because you have defined how you want it done, written it down and turned it into a system, trained people in how to do it, it still doesn’t mean that they will do it!

Someone has gotta be the boss and pull people up when things aren’t being done consistently to the standards that you have defined. That might involve tweaking the system or going over the training again.

If you are the owner or manager part of your job is to constantly monitor the performance of people, and evolve or fine tune the systems and give people on-going training to ensure quality control.

In short, “you want it to become system dependant rather than people dependent.”

As salon owners the problem is that we are often focusing only on “The Product” the product being the technical and creative skills of hairdressing, and not focusing enough on developing relationship skills of our people and the delivering of a five star client experience.

Being good at the technical and creative side is not enough, it’s an expectation, an assumption. To really succeed you need to be a well rounded professional that can also deliver a consistently great experience and to nurture and build long lasting relationships.

Thanks for watching, have a great week!

I’m your client, but would I buy from you?

Imagine I was your client, would I buy from you?

What would it take?

What should you do, and say?

What shouldn’t you do, and say?

What is it that’s important to those that really matter, the clients?

Well, if I was your client here’s my list… at number 1 it would be,

“You had better be sincere”…

Getting me to buy home haircare and styling products from you is not about learning some new sales pitch. Sorry, but as your client I can see through that a mile off and it reeks of insincerity.

You had better genuinely believe in the products that you use, and recognise that ‘as my hairdresser’ if you really care about me, then part of your role is to subtly educate me about what you are using, and above all, you need to be sincere, enthusiastic and passionate about what you do.

At number 2 it would be,

“Tell, don’t sell”…

Tell me about the stuff you’re using as part of the conversation, not as a sales pitch.

As a consumer ‘I’m sold to’ all day every day, so when I come to get my hair cut or coloured, please be smart enough to know the difference. Tell, don’t sell.

The third step, is to understand that,

“I don’t care about your product!”

I only care about ‘how your product will improve my life’.

So as your client don’t leave it up to me to figure that out, make the connection for me.

Educate me!

Show me what you are using.

Tell me what it’s called.

Explain to me what it does.

Tell me how to use it and when to apply it.

Finally, at the reception, ask me if I want it by using the name of the product you used, don’t say to me “do you want any products?” and expect me to know what you mean because I don’t…

The fourth thing is,

“Don’t baffle me”…

In most instances I have no interest at all in the science behind what you sell, so don’t baffle me with technology. If I ask something like, “What does Sulphate free mean”, I’ll expect you to know, but only in terms that relate to making my life better.

So using ‘sulphate free' as an example say something like, “Sulphates are a cleansing agent, but the downside of them is that they also fade hair-colour, so ‘sulphate free shampoos’ will mean that your colour lasts longer”

The fifth thing is,

“Is this a long term relationship or not?”

I know you. I like you. I like the way you cut my hair, colour my hair. I like the energy in the salon and I trust you.

I suppose we have a relationship of sorts, and I look forward to coming for my haircut, I’m happy with what you charge and the value I get, it’s convenient for me to come to you and I might come every 4-6 weeks for years to come, so don’t treat me solely as a sales target, or you’ll lose me as a client!

I understand your salon is a business and selling haircare products is part of your business, I understand that you probably have targets to meet, but don’t overdo it, be smart enough to know how to get the balance right.

Remember it’s a relationship built on trust and sincerity.

The next thing is to accept that,

“I won’t always buy it, so when I say, ‘No’ …get over it!”

Look, I may not want it, need, it like it, or be able to afford it, either way it’s probably none of your business why I sometimes say ‘no’! But recognise that ‘no’ just means ‘no’, maybe next time I will, maybe I won’t, I don’t have to explain why.

So get over it, don’t take it personally. I just don’t want it at the moment and that could be for any of a million reasons, [most of which are none of your business.]

The seventh thing is to,

“Be consistent”

I like consistency, if every time I visit you there is a different product you use and recommend I get confused, so I don’t care how you do it, but be sincere and be consistent.

Next step is, please

“Don’t decide for me”

You don’t know what I can afford, you might think you do, but “don’t be so rude to assume what I can and can’t afford, or the value that I put on it” that’s not up to you, I am the only one who can decide that.

Your job, is to concentrate on being the professional and explain to me your recommendations.

And the 9th and final thing is,

“Be proud of what you do!”

I like the way you make my hair look, so be proud of what you do.

I want my hair to look good tomorrow and next week as well, so tell me what you use and tell me how to do it, then offer me the opportunity to purchase it. Be proud of what you do, then leave the decision to me.

So what’s next? I suggest you sit down with your team and brainstorm the key steps to how you make ‘retail’ a natural part of the salon journey

1. What are the words you should use?
2. How can you make it part of your salon culture?
3. How can you use ‘role playing' as a training tool for better retailing?
4. Who's the best retailer in your salon, what do they say, do and think about retail?

Hope you have got something out of today, if you’re interested I wrote a whole bunch of stuff about retail in my first book ‘GROW 1  Super Stylist’ you can get it from my website www.growmysalonbusiness.com

Thank you for watching…

Have a great week! 

Have you got what it takes?

Have you got what it takes?

Like many people, I enjoy watching a range of sports, whether it’s athletics, football, rugby, tennis or basketball.

When you watch great athletes in any sport, it is hard to not be humbled by the devotion and dedication they have to their chosen sport. I think that the discipline and focus that is needed to develop such amazing bodies and compete at the highest level is incredibly inspiring.

But, it’s not just their amazing bodies, it’s their equally amazing minds.

You see, I would like to suggest that at some point in our lives that perhaps you and I [and I say perhaps] had the body that physically had the ‘potential’ to be some ‘amazing machine’ that could have, with the right training, the right diet, the right facilities and support… that perhaps could have been capable of running, swimming, jumping, throwing… or whatever, to be ‘Incredible’ at it.

We may have had the body, that had the potential. But, did we have the mental attributes?

Did we have the desire, the focus, the determination, the self motivation the commitment, the passion, the hunger and the discipline?

In every area of our life, we have potential…

The difference is that with the right mindset some people turn potential into reality.

30 years ago a friend of mine wrote 4 words down on a scrap of paper for me, [I still have the piece of paper today].

The first word was ‘WANT’

Want…

It all starts by knowing what you WANT.

So what do you WANT?

What do you WANT to achieve?

What do you WANT to win?

What do you WANT to own?

Who do you WANT to be?

Where do you WANT to go?

The second word was ‘PLAN'

Plan…

It won’t just happen, you need a PLAN about how to turn ‘what you WANT’ into reality.

What is the PLAN?

What is the strategy?

What is the system?

Have you broken it down into small steps?

How are you going to turn what you ‘want’ into reality?

So, what’s your PLAN?

The third word is ‘SACRIFICE’

Sacrifice…

Inevitably, there will need to be sacrifices made along the way, will the sacrifices be money, friendships, time, relationships, opportunities?

What are you prepared to SACRIFICE?

What will you have to go without?

What are you prepared to give up?

What won’t you be able to spend money on?

Who won’t you be able to hang out with?

Are you prepared to ‘pay the price’ to get what you want?

And the fourth and final word was ‘ACT’

Act…

Are you prepared to act?

Not just ‘once, or ‘occasionally’, or ‘when you feel like it’ or when someone else is watching or, or, or…

Because without taking consistent action, nothing will happen.

Thank you for watching…

Have a great week! 

What does it mean to you?

What does it mean to you?

I’ve been talking about change a lot lately… maybe more than usual.

Maybe it’s because the older you get the more references you have for ‘what it used to be like’ and so you become aware of how much things have changed and continue to. Or maybe it’s because we are living in times where the rate of change is dramatically speeding up. I think it’s probably a mixture of the two things.

I don’t know anyone who doesn’t want change in some area of their lives, whether it’s a change in a relationship, a change in their health a change in their level of fitness. Or professional changes about what they do, or about the results they get which then impacts on a change in their income. 

The challenge is often that although you want a change in circumstances, you don’t want to make the changes that you need to in order to get the result that you want.

So for example, you want to get fit but you aren’t prepared to change your diet or start an exercise routine.

Or you want to earn more money but you don’t want to up-sell services or talk about retail, or rebooking, or suggest colour options for your clients. You just want more money without having to do anything to make it happen except express the need to have more money.    

If you want to get something different… you have to do something different.

Some people see ‘change’ as exciting, they see change as a positive, an opportunity, a chance to grow, to learn, to have more, be more and do more.

Other people see change as terrifying, unsettling, losing control. They see change as something being taken away from them, as loss and they assume that they will be worse off.

In the hairdressing industry there are a lot of changes happening, from changes in technology, changes in product, changes in the salon business model, changes in how we learn, and changes in how we are marketing selling and distributing our products and services.

We can’t stop change, we can’t always control it, some of it we won’t like, some of it isn’t fair, some of it will present great opportunities for us, and make our lives so much easier, whilst other changes will potentially make what we are doing and how we are doing it redundant.

So how should you handle change?

Well I think that regardless of what the change is you should always look for the upside, you should try and be positive about it, you should embrace it, you should anticipate it and you should always be looking for ways to make change work for you, because only one thing is for sure, ‘it’s not going to stop’.

Thank you for watching…

I hope you have got something out of today. Do someone a favour and share this content with them.

And don’t forget to follow me on Instagram and Facebook  @growmysalonbusiness

Have a great week! 

What’s your motive for action?

Do you know where the word ‘motivation’ comes from?

I usually start my seminars by asking, “What would you like to get out of today?” Invariably, the word ‘Motivation’ is on the list of answers.

The word ‘Motivation’ means ‘Motive for Action' or another way of saying that is, “What is your reason for doing it”, whatever ‘it' is. What motive for action do you have? What drives you forward?

When I reflect the question back to people, everyone has their own reasons, from money, to pride, ambition, a better lifestyle, to support a family etc.

So, how do you motivate yourself?

It follows then, that if motivation means ‘motive for action’ that what you need to do to motivate yourself is focus on what your ‘motive for action – your reasons for doing it’ are… It’s the ‘what’s in it for me’ factor.

The more ‘reasons for doing it’ that you can come up with as to why you need to get on with it, the more motivated you become to get it done!

Sometimes we all look for the easy way out, where we want someone else to motivate us, “I just need motivating” or “I need you to motivate me” or “If only I could get motivated”.

Motivation is a feeling…

Motivation is a feeling, an attitude, an emotion, it comes from within. Someone else can inspire you, but you need to learn how to motivate yourself.

When you look at someone, you can often tell how they are feeling and what their level of motivation is because their body language speaks volumes.

Think about it, what is the body language of someone who is happy? Angry? Sad? Depressed? What do those emotions look like?

Alternatively, What is the body language of someone who is motivated? Do they sit slumped in a chair, rounded shoulders looking at the ground? Of course not, that is the body language of depressed, that is how you ‘do’ depressed.

So how do you do motivation? How do you sit? How do you move? How do you sound? What tone of voice do you have? What words do you use? What do you focus on? Who do you spend time with? What do you listen to? How do you communicate?

Motivation is something you do…

The quickest way to motivate yourself is to change your physiology. Think about it, when you've felt motivated before what was your physiology? Whatever it was, do it again… put yourself in the same physical state, do the same things you did with your body when you were last motivated and you will feel more motivated.

I know it might be easier to sit collapsed in front of the TV watching some mindless rubbish with a glass of wine or whatever in your hand… but that’s not how you do motivation.

I know it might be easier to sit in the staff room and complain about everyone and everything, but that's not how you do motivation either.

Motivation comes from being focused…

You need to have a focus, a purpose, not my purpose or someone else’s purpose, your purpose, your reason for doing whatever it is.

Your purpose is your goal, so what is it? If your ‘motive for action' is money, how much money is it you want, and by when? If your motive for action is a better life style, what sort of a life style do you want and by when? If your ‘motive for action’ is ambition, what is it you want to achieve, what position, what job, what reward is it that you are aiming for?

People who succeed in life are people who are focused, they know what they want and they focus on getting it, they are clear about their ‘motive for action’.

People who are ‘fuzzy' in defining what they want, who are vague in getting definition in their ‘motive for action’ lack direction and the focus needed to succeed.

Many people think motivation leads to action. No, motivation doesn’t cause action. It’s the opposite ‘Action creates motivation.’ That’s a really important distinction.

Being motivated is down to you. Sorry but you can’t blame anyone else. Motivation is a choice, your choice. So make the choice to be self motivated.

It’s not up to someone else, it’s up to you! One of my favourite quotes is made up of ten 2 letter words “If it is to be, it is up to me”

Brainstorm with your team:

• As individuals what are your ‘motives for taking action’?
• As a team what is our collective ‘motive for action’?
• How can we motivate each other?

Thank you for watching…

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Have a great week! 

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