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Lori Bruton

Author | Writer | Lifestyle Blogger |Speaker

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Hi, I'm Lori.
Author, Speaker, Coach, Ghostwriter

Can I Bring Anything?

November 9, 2021 by Lori Leave a Comment

Can I Bring Anything?

 

Do you ever have holiday or social gatherings where each person or family is assigned to bring something? How does that work out?

One advantage is that the work is shared among everyone. Each person makes a contribution, which is helpful. Therefore, the work and expense doesn’t fall just on the host.

[Keep reading to discover 5 juicy solutions.]

What can be some downfalls?  The people who are chronically late offer to bring the appetizers. That is not helpful, because the meal is ready by the time they get there. No appetizers were served since you were waiting for them to arrive ahead of time so that everyone could enjoy hor d’oeuvres and mingle before the meal.

I had a family member who offered to bring appetizers and was always late. The lesson I learned was tell her no thank you and that she didn’t need to bring anything. That was the solution to politely decline her offer to bring a dish. I could have assigned her dessert, but I enjoy making the desserts.

When my mom served a meal, it was always on time. She didn’t penalize the ones who got there on time instead of rewarding those who were late. She wasn’t going let her hard work result in a ruined and cold meal by waiting for the latecomers. She was a wise woman.

Respect the host and be a good host.

What standards are you setting personally and professionally? Let’s say you are holding a webinar. What are your expectations? Once you have invited people and promoted your webinar, you expect people to show up on time, right? The attendees are investing their time and also expect you to show up on time as well. Yes, sometimes there are technical issues, but that aside, everyone needs to show up on time, especially the host.

Start. No matter who is on or not on the webinar, start on time. Those who are already there deserve to have their time honored. Anyone who jumps on late can tune in from wherever you are in your presentation. Maybe they can catch the replay for the part they missed. There are legitimate reasons why people could not jump in on time. That’s not the point. The point is that they will join when they can. It’s their responsibility to catch up. It’s our responsibility to start our webinars on time. It’s frustrating for those who are already there when you say, “We will wait a few more minutes for more people to join us.” Tick, tick, tick. Just start and honor your word.

Replays. Not everyone can tune in live. Thankfully, many people record and offer the replay. Different schedules and time zones make it challenging for everyone to tune in live every time. Important note:  When you promise a replay, be sure to deliver it. Keep your promises no matter how you think the quality turned out, people need that content.

What can you bring to your present and potential clients? Value.

I mentioned in my previous blog about your plate being too full. When you are juggling everything in your life, some of those plates will fall and break. That can result in breakdowns. Breakdown in communication, breakdown in completing and keeping up with all you have taken on, which may lead to personal breakdown and burnout. You don’t want to end up there.

Here are 5 recommendations:

  1. Value yourself and value your clients. Don’t let your overbooked schedule affect your clients. Look at what to keep doing and what is too much. That’s when you need to get help, have a backup, or remove some things to lighten your load.
  2. Be prepared. Are you taking time to be prepared for your meetings and webinars? We often forget to factor that in. We rush around and start a meeting without reviewing and preparing first. Our clients and prospects can tell.
  3. How can you be better prepared? If you are on Zoom, make sure your lighting and surroundings are good. Make sure all your equipment is plugged in and charged. Have water near you to drink as needed. Have all your notes and slides on hand and ready to share. Read through, review, and practice first so that it is fresh at your fingertips and fresh on your mind. Don’t try to run around and do errands or fit in something at the last minute that will cause you to be late to your own meeting. Make sure you take a bathroom break ahead of your meeting start time. Allow for connection time. Be in the Zoom Room a few minutes early, especially if you have it set up where you need to let people in the room.
  4. Hire a Holiday Helper. There are virtual assistants who can help you on a short-term basis, especially during the holiday season. That solution can turn into long-term assistance if you discover you need the continued help, which frees you up. Think about what tasks you can outsource. For example, maybe you need social media graphics and posts created or blogs and articles written. Do you need videos or audios repurposed? Do you need thank you notes written and sent out? Those suggestions should whet your appetite. Message me if you need a holiday helper as I provide VA services and know others who do as well.
  5. Hire a Holiday Shopper. Some things are nonnegotiable in your business and must be done by you. That may not leave you time to do personal things. For example, you want to give special gifts to your staff and colleagues, but you don’t have time or know what to get. Keep in mind that is a service I offer, contact me if you want to know more.

Now that we have reviewed the menu, what would you like to bring to the table? Remember you can assign some dishes to others. If you rather cook it all up yourself, I hope these tips were helpful.

Wishing you the Best and much Success,

Lori

Author, Copywriter, VA

Filed Under: MY BLOG Tagged With: appetizer, appointments, article, assignments, assistance, blog, business, clients, colleagues, content, contentcreation, copywriter, delegate, deliver, dessert, dishtopass, entrepreneur, expectations, gifts, help, holidaygatherings, holidayhelp, holidayideas, holidayshopper, ideas, investment, menu, offers, pie, prepare, promise, promotion, recommendations, recording, replay, repurpose, schedule, shoppingservices, socialmedia, solutions, standards, table, time, tips, VA, value, VAservices, virtualassistant, webinar, work

Check the Expiration Date

June 24, 2020 by Lori 7 Comments

Les Brown said:  Are you holding on to a part of your life that has long expired? Each season in life comes with an expiration date, so life is about releasing and surrendering.

Give yourself permission to let go…of past regrets, failures, or mistakes; unresolved pain and disappointments; or actions that you should have, would have, or could have taken ~ but did not.

Choose to give in and surrender to your dream, your passion, and your calling. Marion White said…”In life when you don’t have enough courage and insight to know that you have outgrown a situation and it’s time to move on…life will move on you.” Let go or be dragged. It is your choice. You have GREATNESS within you!

Life has moved on me and was dragging me, because I didn’t see a way to keep pursuing my passion as the bills and debts pile up and my car got a terminal diagnosis. Not knowing how to dig out of all those holes. It looked hopeless. I felt defeated and discouraged.

As I sit here today, I ask myself if the things I’ve been doing have expired. Thinking I needed to get a temp job and work outside the home only to have stuff keep happening to sabotage it every time. I don’t belong there, but because of a cash flow challenge, I kept going back to what is familiar and listening to people telling me, “get a job”.

Remember that song by Uncle Kracker that says, “Something is wrong here; I don’t belong here.” For me, that would be in a corporate cube. There must be other options, right?

Guess what? My job is to write. God gave me the gift of words. I am a STORYTELLER and SPEAKER. It’s my time to tell my stories and use my voice to impact people, give them hope, and show them how to live their dream. The people who read my books and hear my voice in the written or spoken word will not only know my struggles and the obstacles I overcame, but their lives will transform and as they overcome too.

I am the Queen of Hope. I must not lose hope. The Good Book says, the enemy comes to kill, steal, and destroy. The enemy doesn’t want me to live my destiny, pursue my passion, and impact lives. He doesn’t want any of us to live our purpose on purpose.

I almost fell back and got off track and paused my own dreams. No! God is the Waymaker, Miracle worker, and Promise Keeper.

Do you have a dream you gave up on, because you didn’t see a way to make it happen? No matter where you are now, it’s just where you are, not who you are, as the Oola Guys say.

Alexander Graham Bell said, “When one door closes, another door opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.”

Let’s promise each other to pursue our dreams, impact lives, and love life. You were created to create by The Creator.

A great place to start is read what I created and let it inspire you. My book is endorsed by The Oola Guys, Dr. David Braun and Dr. Troy Amdahl. (Thanks for believing in me, Oola Seeker & Oola Guru). Click here to get your copy of Hole to Whole:  Journey To Hope And Transformation

Journey on. Your Oola Path awaits. (What does that mean?) Leave a comment or message me to find out.

Filed Under: MY BLOG Tagged With: alexandergrahambell, author, babyboomers, book, corona, covid19, create, cubicle, destiny, dream, dreambig, faith, fulfillment, fullthrottle, God, hope, inspiration, job, journey, lesbrown, listen, lockdown, marionwhite, motivation, oola, oolaguru, oolaguys, oolaseeker, overcomer, path, purpose, quarantine, quotes, read, season, speaker, story, storyteller, transformation, trust, work, write

NEW YEAR, NEW YOU

January 14, 2020 by Lori Leave a Comment

Ready for a new YOU in 2020?

Here’s the one thing you must do.

With a whole new year ahead of us, how about a reality check: did you accomplish everything you wanted to in 2019? Are your finances handled? Are you in better shape and eating healthier? Did you handle those tough family situations or those friendships that were high maintenance?

And what about having fun, checking things off your bucket list, and doing cool new things in your career?

If 2019 was a blur and starting a new decade in 2020 has inspired you to create the amazing life you want, I have good news for you: a unique opportunity for you to work with two amazing experts (and me) to make sure your major life goals are achieved.

Meet the OolaGuys . . .

The Oola Guys: Dave Braun & Troy Amdahl

More than 20 years ago, two holistic physicians—Dr. Dave Braun and Dr. Troy Amdahl—created a formula called Oola to help people establish new habits, practice new ways of living, and take those daily actions that are key to bringing life into balance, then keeping it that way on an ongoing basis. Today, “The OolaGuys” are international bestselling authors, social media influencers, personal growth experts, and founders of Oola Coaching with countless successful clients around the world.

Tons of victory stories of real people confirm that the simple, practical, easy-to-implement Oola formula works to help people get healthy, eliminate debt, build wealth, move into their dream career, have more fun, create a better circle of friends, resolve lifelong family conflict . . . and so much more.

But here’s the best part: together, the Oola Guys and I have created an exciting opportunity to help you achieve your own story of balance, happiness and growth in 2020.

Announcing the Oola Coaching Program . . . 10 weeks to creating the life you want.

Over the next 10 weeks, via video tutorials sent to your inbox every week, Dave and Troy will teach you the Oola principles, while you and I work personally (by phone or Zoom) to help you put into action what you learn.

Over 10 intensive weeks, I’ll help you define the life you want, then help you accomplish what you haven’t been able to tackle on your own. We’ll even identify your breakthrough goal: the essential thing you MUST do to turn things around, get back to normal, and begin building the future you want.

Of course, most of the top performers in the world have private coaches: athletes, business owners, artists, corporate executives, even stay-at-home moms with a prosperous side hustle.

Now it’s your turn to join forces with Oola and me to meet your goals in 2020.

To read about the Oola Coaching Program and get started, click here.

What could you achieve in 2020 by working together and focusing on your future?

 

In Gratitude,

LORI BRUTON

Certified Oola Life Coach

 

Filed Under: MY BLOG, Uncategorized Tagged With: 2020, accomplish, achieve, athletes, author, balance, breakthrough, bucketlist, build, businessowner, career, coach, debt, dreams, eating, entrepreneur, faith, finances, fitness, focus, friendship, fun, future, goals, gratitude, habits, happiness, health, influencer, inspiration, invest, learn, life, lifecoach, moms, newyear, newyou, oola, oolaguys, opportunity, personal development, personalgrowth, principles, program, relationship, resolutions, say yes, story, vicotory, wealth, work, you are worth it

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Hi, I'm Lori!

I'm a copywriter, blog writer, and ghostwriter, with a focus in the inspirational and travel niches. Need custom copy that motivates? Learn more about what I do!

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