Terri King Speaks

What is your appearance saying about you?  How we dress and talk is directly proportionate to who we are and who we think we are.  How others perceive you is exactly how you are in their minds, regardless of the accuracy of such an assessment.

So, does image really matter?  The answer is, it depends.  It matters if it matters to you.  You can adopt the image of your choice.  If you want to be a corporate exectutive, then dress like one.  If you want to be a cowboy, get  a big hat and boots.  Learn the language and style of the person you wish to become. 

Not only will others adopt that perception but it will take you a long way to believing you can be that person.  Incidently, convincing yourself is your hardest challenge.  After that, the rest of us are easy. 

What does your best self look like? 

Three Things to think about when creating your image:

1. Develop your own style.  Take great ideas from others and put your own spin on them.

2. A great smile is an asset to any style.

3. Own it!!  It’s yours and you don’t have to explain it to anyone.  Rock on with confidence.

You’re on the stage of your life.  You’re the star of the show. You have the power to write the YOU character any way you want.  Don’t hold back.  Give us something exciting.

I can’t wait to see it.

 Terri King

This weekend I began a project that will end with a book about my paternal grandmother, Stella Walker King.  Just one fact-finding session into my journey I got rewarded with stories I had never planned on. I recorded her voice as she spoke and have listened intently to the conversation between 2 generations many times already. 

Is there someone in your life you admire and respect?  Or maybe you know someone who’s just really interesting to you.  May I encourage you today to take the time to call them up or sit down to a little talk about who they are, where they’re from, and what they’ve lived through. 

Perserving the heritage of the human spirit is a worthy cause. You just might get the same emotional rewards I got yesterday.  I hope so.

Your new job: Journalist.  If you uncover a great story, post a comment and share it with us.  I can’t wait to see what kind of treasures you dig up.

Terri King

Whoever’s thinking has the most authority.  The concept that thoughts have power goes back thousands of years.  By that, you’ve guessed I’m not going to tell you anything new, but this is worth revisiting.  Have you ever let your mind wonder back on an emotional experience and find yourself weeping or laughing all over again?  Good.  You’ve had a personal experience with the power of your mind and its ability to give life to thoughts.  Our lives are born daily out of our own thoughts.  I remember the first time I caught a glimpse of this powerful truth.  I was then and still am thrilled to know that my life is whatever I make it.  I’m the Boss. The same goes for us all.  The paper-thin barrier between us and what we really want for our lives is just the decision to have it, and then, manage our thoughts well enough to reach our goal.

Remember you’re the boss.  Here are some thought management strategies every boss can use:

1. Negative thinking gets the pink slip, NO EXCEPTIONS!!

2. Positive thinking gets rewarded, and a PROMOTION!!

3.  Thoughts go the right direction, or they get REPLACED!!

Bossy Self to Thought: “I know it sounds like a mighty tough place to work, but we’re not tinkering around here, Mr. Thought, lives depend on your determination and focus.  Now, let’s get busy.”

Have fun bossing yourself around.

Terri King

Pursuing anything worthwhile? Perhaps you know you risk suffering defeat before attaining that which you desire.  Don’t let the fear of failure cripple you.  Go after your dreams.  Failure is not fatal. In fact, it’s a natural part of the journey to your best self.  It is a common reaction for most people to give up at the first sign of defeat.  Giving up, on the other hand, is fatal.  If we give up, the game is over.  We must ask ourselves, “How much does it mean to me?” If you really want it, it’s worth a few setbacks along the way.  We can learn lessons in failure that can lead to success just beyond the spot in the road where the majority turns back.  You and I can succeed if we don’t quit. 

P.S. If you aren’t pursuing anything worthwhile, you should get to work on that right away.  Somebody needs you, namely, YOU!

What are values? Webster says they’re “that which is regarded as desirable or worthy.” That question was easy enough to answer, but here’s one only you can answer.  “What are your values?”  Perhaps you are wondering why I ask this question.  As most of you know I am a small business owner (King Associates Real Estate, LLC) and I am a firm believer in business planning.  My office manager, Rhonda Ford, and I were working on pieces of the plan when she brought values to my attention.  We have had a mission statement since our inception, but no stated values.  As  I have thought more about this I realize that this is a critical piece we were missing.  First evaluate yourself for your personal values.  What premise do you live and make decisions by? Simply, why do you do what you do? Or why not? What is important to you? This will lead you to the explanation of your character, your values.  From there, you can develop your professional values as they should be very similar.  I have been amazed how this list of values has helped me focus and decipher the path for myself, my career, and my company.  Bringing values to the forefront subjects everything else to the scrutiny of those values.  If it doesn’t line up with your values, you shouldn’t do it.  Sit down with a piece of paper and give this exercise a try.  I think you will find it rewarding, as I have. 

Special thanks to Rhonda Ford for her contributions to this subject.

Terri King

Did you see 20/20 last Friday?  Asheville was named the Happiest Place to Live in America.  Is happy a place, person, or thing?  No.  And, you can’t even stumble upon it.  Happy is a decision and the committment to personal excellence that makes the decision to be happy a reality. Now, don’t be sad.  This is great news.  This means you don’t have to wait, hope, pray for happiness. It’s not in your next paycheck, or your next relationship.  It’s right there inside of you and within your absolute control. In feast and in famine you can be happy.  Here’s 3 suggestions on cultivating happiness.

1. Put on a smile (even when you aren’t really feeling it)

2. Take a positive approach to your thinking and perceptions of your circumstances

3. Count your blessings

 Oh, and it doesn’t hurt to live in the happiest place in America. Call me if your ready to move.!!

Sorry, had to throw that one in there.  Here’s wishing you a happy day.

Terri King

It takes a conscious effort to embrace hope and optimism in uncertain times.  The fear of the unknown and the negative hype of the media can be crippling.  One thing you can count on is that the media will never announce to you that exciting times are ahead and you will beat the odds.  So, don’t turn to the media for direction.  Be in the know, but don’t take it too much to heart.  Is a recession coming? Who knows, probably.  So what do we do?  We keep our innermost thoughts on what we want, be careful with our money, manage expenses, expect to come through whatever is ahead better off than we were before.  Close your ears and open your mind to the absolute determination to be in control of your own destiny. 

3 habits for staying positive:

1. 15 minutes of quiet time each day thinking about what you want

2.  Take a moment each day to be thankful for something.

3. Help/encourage someone else today.

I hope this note helps someone and I am thankful for you! Have a great day.

Terri

Welcome to my first blog posting.  I am excited about this new adventure.  I regularly write but only in personal journals that virtually no one sees, so here goes running naked through the street!

 I have been working on goal-setting for over 4 years now.  The one thing I’ve learned the most is that it’s absolutely worth every minute of time investment.  Even though I have made many mistakes, I have still seen exceptional results and you can too.  Most recently I have realized I lack adequate faith and consistent focus.  How do we increase faith? I think a good start is self affirmations, and prayer.  How do we keep focus? We must get obsessed with what we are trying to accomplish. Keep it in front of us every day, everywhere, through vision boards, notes, signs, etc.  Be creative. We must believe in our ourselves, each other, The Infinite, and our goals.  Keep moving forward and I will too.  We will get there!!