MAGAZINE June 2020
OUR INTERVIEW WITH ONE OF THE TOP INFLUENTIAL
EXCUTIVE PRODUCER, TV HOST, INVESTOR, WEALTH BUILDER EXPERT
DAVID FRIEDMAN
How High Performers Really Achieve Personal Success SUSIE MOORE The Need for Leadership and Community Bonding for Business Success SOULAIMA GOURANI Selling Virtually with These
5 Crucial Strategies MERDITH POWELL
WHY YOUR PERFORMANCE ON VIDEO MATTERS TO YOUR DIGITAL MARKETING RESULTS DARRELL STERN
Self Care PHIL GUINOUARD
EzWay WALL OF FAME
The 9 Biggest Obstacles to Creativity...and How to Overcome Them CARMA SPENCE
Overcoming Obstacles and Breaking Barrier A Gift for Father’s Day STEPHEN R SMITH HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY LEAD A REMOTE TEAM - ONE MANAGER’S BEST ADVICE
WWW.InfluentialPeopleMagazine.com
GITTE RANDRUP INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE MAGAZINE 1
Contents 10
16
ON THE COVER
36
Staying Indoors Increases Virus Risk! DAVID FRIEDMAN
22 24
The Need for Leadership and Community Bonding for Business Success SOULIMA GOURANI
Overcoming Obstacles and Breaking Barrier—A Gift for Father’s Day STEPHEN R. SMITH
42
Self Care PHIL GUINOUARD
44
How to successfully Lead a Remote Team – One Manager’s Best Advice GITTE RANDRUP
Interview with the World’s Greatest Motivators MIKEY ADAM COHEN
26
The 9 Biggest Obstacles to Creativity...and How to overcome Them
54
CARMA SPENCE
29
Why Your Performance on Video matters to Your Digital Marketing Results DARRELL STERN
7 Simple Steps to Success
70
MICHELLE WINDER
How High Performers Really Achieve Personal Success SUSIE MOORE
32
Selling Virtually with These 5 Crucial Strategies MERIDITH POWELL
Sponsored by
INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE MEDIA GROUP 2 INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE MAGAZINE
INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE Magazine
W elcome to the world of influential people. From social media, business, health/fitness to transfor-
mational leaders like self-help gurus, educators, authors, speakers, artists, coaches, trainers, and mentors all are heroes too often invisible heroes. All are visionaries coming forward to bring a message of hope and possibilities and developing a platform for creativity and excellence.
Our definition of an influential person is someone who chooses to impact those around them for the better, someone who encourages people to think beyond their own life so that they will aspire to inspire others. Influence is not enforced but gently led by personal example and. education. While big media would convince us that the world’s influencers are all on the ‘main’ stage we at Influential People Magazine disagree. Yes, we may read a book or see someone in a news report, but those people are too distant from our own sphere to make them relatable. We know, it is those in our communities who truly influence us, who teach us and inspire us, not by one deed but by how we see them live. The team at Influential People believes passionately in spreading that message and understands the need to provide exposure for people on a local level. We work hard to provide a forum for coaches, mentors, authors, writers, trainers, speakers, business owners, entrepreneurs, photographers, event producers, health & wellness practitioners, teachers, icons, heroes. We consider these people to be leaders whose voice and a story has still to be told to the world. Influential People Magazine is known as a place for emerging Influencers. Will you be one or will you find your next mentor in our pages? Join us to find out.
INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE MAGAZINE 3
Surviving and Thriving After Drugs, Guns, Gangs, Dysfunctionality, and Craziness A Book by Steve Cederquist by Angela Kelly Picture a dumpster - yes, a real dumpster! You know that big garbage container that is collecting things that people are throwing away. Have you gone “dumpster diving”? If you’ve ever been in a dark place, homeless, out of work, hungry, living on the streets - you may know what this is like. Just. To. Survive. But what about changing, getting rid of the things that are holding you down? Can we throw away these items into our “imaginary” dumpster and move on? Steve Cederquist says, “YES” in his new book, GET OUT ALIVE: Surviving and Thriving After Drugs, Guns, Gangs, Dysfunctional, and Crazy. This book is a major dumpster dive into his life, he has been to those dark places. He’s lived it. From being a drug addict to getting himself thrown in prison - he’s been there. He’s written and organized this book - his memoir about his life to set you up for success. This is not an ordinary memoir though - he has a message - a greater vision for you. If you have an incentive to change, “Life will take off in a new direction because you’ll be directing it - the stuff you don’t want will go in the dumpster”.
What are others saying about it?
“The power inbox is a message it transfers! That has the ability to impact the world in a way that can shift perceptions for the better as this is a book and a message that is massively needed in our time. A writer like this is a gift for the world!”
-Emmanuel Kelly, pop artist “If you ever feel STUCK, always seek out those who have been there before, learned how to rise, and conquer the odds by believing in themselves!”
-Erik “Mr. Awesome” Swanson 5 Time #1 Bestselling Author & Founder of Habitude Warriors, Speaker “With candor and courage, Steve Cederquist shares the capacity and potential we all possess when we are motivated to decide to create real change in our life! He proves that anything is possible!”
-Julie Jones Hamilton, Executive of World’s Greatest Motivators Television series
Producer
“Steve’s life story is one of true perseverance & inspiration. The writing is captivating, entertaining, and truly heart centered. I simply couldn’t put it down. Before I knew it, mascara was dripping down my face and I was ready to go tackle my dreams in a whole new inspired way. A great read for anyone: Young, old, thriving, or surviving.”
-DarcyK Simply Stunning Spaces “A great reminder that our past does not determine our tomorrow. Well done!”
-Greg S. Reid, author: Think and Grow Rich Series “The activities that Steve lays out for readers of Get Out Alive not only help you to take stock of how you became the person you are today, they also help you to shape a positive perspective on life that will empower you going forward.”
-David Meltzer, co-founder of Sports 1 Marketing, best selling author, and top business coach
8 INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE MAGAZINE
Published by Ingenium Books, GET OUT ALIVE: Surviving and Thriving After Drugs, Guns, Gangs, Dysfunction and Crazy is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and all other retailers including online platforms.
Available in… ebook, paperback, and audiobook Wherever you buy your books. Get Your Copy Now
Steve Cederquist INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE MAGAZINE 9
OUR INTERVIEW WITH
JEFFERY LEVINE AUTHOR, TV HOST, INVESTOR, EXCUTIVE PRODUCER, WEALTH BUILDER EXPERT,
10 INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE MAGAZINE
Jeffrey Levine, on the surface, is an extremely accomplished inde-
coaching to distinguished families that exceed their financial goals before
pendent financial strategist with J L Wealth Solutions who harnesses
their expected deadlines and beyond their fiscal expectations. It is in this
more than 25 years’ experience in the financial and tax planning arena.
space of personal accomplishment where his heart lies.
Mr. Levine consistently ensures and protects the long-term viability of
Mr. Levine’s Wealthbuilders television show will be streamed via tradi-
multimillion-dollar portfolios and enterprises. He designated himself as a
tional social media channels as well as IHeart Radio, ROKU, and Amazon
“WealthBuilder” who takes a healthy portfolio, adds creative vision, then
Prime outlets through a partnership with eZWay Broadcasting. Jeffrey
designs visionary strategies to attain and retain generational wealth. As
will highlight his expertise in personal and business financial planning,
such, he produces healthy, enduring results for high echelon clients in-
outline exit strategies for profitable business sales, and dissect efficient
cluding multinational corporations, non-profits, senior executives, and
monetary vehicles that are tax-favored. He wishes to engage with
diplomats. More than a strategist, Mr. Levine is a transformational leader
thought leaders and high-ranking decision-makers in domestic and inter-
who influences and persuades top ranking people with his highly sought-
national tax policies. Jeffrey will invite top players to converse about
after opinions and respected trusted judgments.
advancements in personal financial management strategies while sharing
Mr. Levine received his L.L.M. in Taxation from Boston University
ways businesses can monetize their real assets through strategic planning
School of Law. It was there that he developed his passion for coaching
that includes his own digital platform that caters those looking to mone-
and training, studying topics such as economics, political science, and
tize their platforms to a network of more than one million subscribers.
business management. He went on to be a contributor for several peri-
IPM: Can you please tell us a little about yourself and how you got to
odicals, a featured commentator for numerous renowned news shows,
where you are today?
while handling quantitative analysis needs of managing multi-billiondollar accounts, has written several books and produced the motivational movie ‘Beyond the Secret’ in partnership with other dynamic industry professionals.
JEFF: I was born in Albany, New York. My father worked for the local newspaper and my mother was a schoolteacher and guidance counselor. Since April 15 was a challenging time in our family, my father owed taxes and didn’t have the money to pay. Since I didn’t want this to happen to
In his tenure in the financial industry, Mr. Levine has fed his insatiable
him ever again, I went to law school and then an extra year of law school
interest in international taxation saving strategies and emerging com-
to study 12 courses on tax law. And I earned a Certified Financial Planner
modities markets by investing his research into coaching families to con-
degree. After I received my education, my father never owed additional
sider comfortable retirement strategies that support opportunities for
taxes again. Since I was able to help him with his taxes and his finances, I
growing their net worth. His interest in wealth retention, however, is
decided to do it for others for 35 years. After 35 years, I retired. Since the
rooted in altruistic concerns, as reflected by his track record of long-term
Covid-19, I started to practice again helping Business Owners and
INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE MAGAZINE 11
How To Navigate Your Business To A Profitable Exit
Build your business to sell devise your business exit strategy with this easy to use work book by the Wealth Builder Jeffrey Levine
Paperback Workbook available now
New Version available soon.. 14 INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE MAGAZINE
INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE MAGAZINE 15
STAYING INDOORS INCREASES VIRUS RISK!
DR DAVID FRIEDMAN
AUTHOR, SPEAKER, RADIO/TV HEALTH EXPERT that's the body’s way of increasing internal temperature in an attempt to destroy the virus. Viruses hate the heat! The World Health Organization’s published data on stability and re-
Copyrighted by: Dr. David Friedman
sistance of SARS coronavirus which states that “heat kills the SARS coro-
Social distancing is being enforced across the nation as an attempt to
navirus in 15 minutes.” The SARS coronavirus happens to share 90 per-
contain and eliminate the coronavirus. But is being quarantined indoors
cent of its DNA with the current coronavirus (COVID-19.) According to
and having our beaches closed the answer? Your best defense against
the Lancet Medical Journal, “There are many similarities between severe
the virus is to get ultraviolet (UV) light from the sun and breathe in the
acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID
fresh spring air!
-19) from the virus homology to the origin and transmission route.”
First, it’s important to know, the coronavirus is not new. Photos of old
While experts are saying it’s too early to know for sure if this current
Lysol labels showing the product kills the coronavirus have gone viral
coronavirus strain will experience the same cellular destruction when
(pun intended;) creating conspiracy cover-up theories that the govern-
exposed to heat, when we look at comparable coronavirus outbreaks
ment has lied to us about the existence of the coronavirus. Scientists
like SARS, it started in November and lasted until July. Many experts
have known about the coronavirus since 1961. There are dozens of virus-
have attributed warm weather to the eradication of SARS. Also, accord-
es in the coronavirus family, but only seven afflict humans. Four are
ing to the American Journal of Public Health, sunshine and fresh air have
known to cause mild colds in people, while others are more novel, dead-
been used successfully to treat patients during the three biggest viral
ly, and thought to be transmitted from animals. SARS and MERS are clas-
pandemics of the last century. Each one was caused by a novel type A
sified as coronaviruses. They are structurally similar to the current coro-
influenza virus. Records from these “open-air” hospitals show sunshine
navirus which is specific to a disease called COVID-19 (abbreviation for
and fresh air spared many from dying from the outbreak
Coronavirus Disease of 2019.) According to the CDC, COVID-19 is transmitted in the same fashion as the flu and common cold: by close contact with infected people and from respiratory droplets when an infected person sneezes or coughs.
Research published in Plos One Medical Journal shows dry, cold air helps viruses stay intact in the air or travel farther as they become airborne. High temperatures and in particular high humidity, like people experience at the beach, slows the influenza spread, and at very high
What we do know about all viruses, including those in the coronavirus
humidity levels, the virus stops spreading completely. But what about
family, they don’t survive well when exposed to heat. AccuWeather
breathing people’s germs that are standing too close to you at the
Founder Dr. Joel N. Myers says, “UV light can damage or destroy various
beach? Warmer air holds more moisture, which prevents airborne virus-
types of pathogens, like SARS and MERS. Sunshine negatively impacts
es from traveling as far as they would in dry air. When you’re outside in
many similar viruses, and it may have similar effects on the coronavirus.”
the sunshine, the small liquid droplets from a cough or sneeze gather
Viruses, including those in the coronavirus family, tend to subside in
more moisture when they are expelled. This makes them too heavy to
warmer months because their outer structure called the "lipid envelope"
stay airborne which causes them to drop to the ground. The heat from
is destroyed by heat. People get a fever when they have the flu because
the sun also breaks down the exterior surface of a virus, making it less
16 INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE MAGAZINE
stable and less likely to cause an infection. On March 9th, the University of Maryland School of Medi-
cine published a paper using weather modeling to determine the “regions most likely to be at a higher risk of significant community spread.” This study shows that the coronavirus has thus far spread most effectively in regions where the average temperatures are between 41 and 52 degrees. Then how can we explain the increase in COVID-19 cases in Florida, the "sunshine state"? Well for starters, Florida is the number one port of entry for cruise lines in the United States. People travel all over the world inside these ships and Florida is their final destination. Cruise ships are like sardine cans, offering the complete opposite of social distancing. Then we have to take into consideration the recirculated air people breathe while cruising (I'll cover that in a minute.) Also, Florida has more theme parks per capita than anywhere in the U.S, including
Disney World, Sea World, Epcot, Busch Gardens and Universal Studios. While these places recently closed, because of the coronaviruses incubation period lasting two weeks, people that got infected in Florida in Feb have created a cascade effect that will need to run its course.
That said, in my opinion, keeping the beaches closed and having people quarantined inside their homes is a bad decision. Getting more sunshine is a proactive step we can all take at protecting ourselves from the current coronavirus outbreak. Instead of staying quarantined inside your house, go outside on your back deck and soak up some virus destroying sunshine! If you live in a high-rise building, open the window, pull up a chair and read a good book (of course, I recommend my #1 best-selling book, Food Sanity, how to eat in a world of fads and fiction.) Getting sunshine for at least 15 minutes will give your body its RDA of immuneboosting vitamin D. FRESH AIR DESTROYS CORONAVIRUS! In addition to sunshine, getting fresh air can help protect us from COVID-19. During this social distancing, officials are recommending people stay inside their homes. Netflix and Amazon Prime Video streaming
services are experiencing a historic record number of viewers. Staying indoors binge-watching TV means breathing dirt, dust, and dander which can create more airborne attachments for bacteria and viruses. This dirty air can weaken our immune system, making us more prone to corona-
Dr. Ian Lipkin, director of the Columbia University's Center for Infec-
virus contamination. According to the Environmental Protection Agen-
tion and Immunity, has dedicated his career to identifying viruses and
cy (EPA), the air inside our home is up to five times more polluted than
helping governments and health or-
the air outside. In recent years, compara-
ganizations confront outbreaks and
tive risk studies performed by the EPA and
global epidemics. Dr. Lipkin says, “UV
its Science Advisory Board (SAB) have con-
light breaks down nucleic acid of a
sistently ranked indoor air pollution among
virus. It almost sterilizes surfaces. If
the top five environmental risks to public
you’re outside, it’s generally cleaner
health! The EPA warns us that indoor air
than inside simply because of that UV
makes people more prone to sinus infec-
light.” UV light is so effective at killing
tions, cough, asthma and other respiratory
bacteria and viruses it’s often used in
illnesses, nausea and a suppressed immune
hospitals to sterilize equipment. In
system.
fact,
a
study
published
by
Since COVID-19 primarily affects the
the American Journal of Infection Con-
lungs, it makes common sense that breath-
trol shows that ultraviolet light elimi-
ing in fresh air would help. Science on how
nates up to 98 percent of pathogens in
our lungs function shows us that air helps
the operating room.
the aviation routes of our lungs to expand
In a study published by the Journal of Infectious Diseases, scientists
better which aids in the purging activity of the lungs. Breathing fresh air
simulated sunlight on influenza virus aerosols and found the virus half-
can help make the lungs stronger and able to prevent and combat the
life was significantly reduced from 31.6 min in the dark control group to
coronavirus compared to breathing stagnant indoor air.
just 2.4 min in simulated sunlight. In other words, sunlight destroyed the virus! A company out of Denmark has created a new technology on using UVD (Ultra Violet Disinfection) robots that kill 99.99% of bacteria in 10 minutes and are also effective against viruses. The UVD Robot has a proven track record at destroying MERS and it also “kills the coronavirus.” The company that created these robots is getting interest from the U.S., not only hospitals but prisons, hotels, and airports. The University of Nebraska Medical Center has used UV light to disinfect rooms in the past when treating Ebola patients and they are currently using UV light to kill the coronavirus on facemasks so they can be reused due to the shortage. While we don’t have access to a UVD robot in our home, we do have free access to the ultimate UV source outside of our home; the sun!
There is evidence from previous outbreaks of similar coronaviruses that people exposed to indoor air are at a greater risk of dying. Scientists who studied the SARS coronavirus outbreak in 2003 found that infected patients from regions with higher air pollution were 84% more likely to die than those in less polluted areas. Aaron Bernstein, director of the Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health says, “There’s lots of evidence that air pollution increases the chances that someone will get pneumonia, and if they get pneumonia, they will be sicker with it. While we don’t have direct evidence of that with COVID-19, I would be surprised if air pollution did not affect the risk for COVID-19 infection and the severity of illness.”
INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE MAGAZINE 17
OVERCOMING OBSTACLES AND BREAKING BARRIERS A GIFT FOR FATHER’S DAY
STEPHEN R SMITH
AUTHOR, SPEAKER, CEO, FOUNDER, BROADCASTER
Copyright by Stephen R Smith
work to manifest these intentions in your life.
Today is a new day and we can paint the canvas of this picture any way we choose. I choose positivity and gratitude – Stephen Smith
For myself, it took decades to arrive at the level of gratitude, joy, and serenity that I possess today. However, it does not have to be like that for everyone. The truth is, I would take 3 steps forward and 2 steps back. If you can relate to this, do not give up. Failure is a step towards success. I did not apply the wisdom and good advice I had been given on any consistent basis. For most of my life, I used alcohol and drugs to help me cope with feelings of worthlessness and self-hatred. Alcohol and drugs helped me hide behind a mask that made everything seem good, even though it was not good. I struggled with anxiety. I endured mental and physical pain accompanied by deep depression at times. I came to the point where I recognized that my life was completely unmanageable, so I turned my life and my will over to the care of God as I understand him.
Most people have built walls to create a safe zone to protect us from our adverse and painful experiences. However, every moment is an opportunity to learn and grow. This is based on the fact we are willing to make a positive transformational change and work towards goals we have dreamed about. In my case, for several years I would tell myself “life sucked and I’m a bad person”. This would occur many times throughout the day. I contemplated suicide and the thought of death swirled in my mind. It seemed like a logical answer to end my suffering. I must have said “The world would be better off without you Stephen” a thousand times. I considered myself a failure to mankind. As I was writing this article, music was playing, and this wonderful song came on. As it played on, tears came to my eyes when I realized that it was relative to what I am about to share with you. The song by The Pretenders is called “Show Me”. The first line goes like this; “Show me the meaning of the World”. Everyone wants to know the answer to this question, right? When we turn on the TV or read the news on our internet feed, we see turbulent days. It is filled with Disease, Social Distancing, Quarantine, Homelessness, Hunger, Riots, Crime, and hatred spewing everywhere around us. There appears a clear division amongst the masses and we wonder why is this happening? The next verse states “Welcome to the Human Race with its wars, disease, and brutality”. The melody plays on and the singer Chrissy Hines, exclaims “I WANT LOVE”. I believe that deep within us we all want to be loved and admired by our families, our spouse, partner, and our children if we have any. We desire to be healthy and strong in mind, body, and spirit. The fact is that many people dream of this lifestyle, but very few obtain it. The reality is that we all possess seeds of greatness and the ability to achieve a higher quality of life that will make us proud and not feel threatened. To achieve this state of Nirvana will take a lot of
22 INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE MAGAZINE
My bottom out was when I found myself homeless, living in the woods. My decision to drink and drive had caught up to me. I had lost most of my possessions, my job, and the meaningful relationships I had with family and friends. Throughout my life, I had made many good decisions, but I had made poor decisions as well. I lost businesses, two marriages, and everything else imaginable. On the other hand, I survived a few near-fatal car accidents, dependence upon alcohol and drugs, and forgave myself for the poor decisions I had made. I had found that love that I was looking for in all the wrong places. Having for the most part lived an abundant, blessed life, I am a survivor. When I tore down the walls, got honest with myself, and made amends to the persons I had wronged, my burdens were lifted. I began to take better care of myself and live each day like it was my last. Living in the present moment is a gift and I am grateful to be alive and well. Daily, I strive to become a better person and to embody positive transformational change. This behavior resulted in a lust for life and my desire to become a role model for others and my community. Over 2 years ago I started broadcasting live videos on Facebook. I titled them “Live with Nature”. Each episode started with the statement that the broadcast offered a connection to Nature, Source, and
was an opportunity to listen to the birds singing. We would watch the sun coming up and welcome in a new day with positivity and gratitude. This evolved into my nonprofit organization that is a resource for positive transformational change, The LWN Live with Nature Foundation. These days my broadcast begins with an introduction that speaks to a specific topic. I talk about empowerment, health, and wellness, gratitude, positivity, have a meditation segment, and close with a prayer. My WHY is to serve others by sharing my personal story of victory over the darkness. I have a vision of opening a “New Life� Transformational Center that will offer the opportunity for the needy to get their life back on track. I plan to offer life skills training, provide health care services, housing, and jobs. I want to inspire people who inspire others. I will help people overcome the obstacles that used to hold them back and
breakthrough barriers to become the best person they can be. When a person releases selflimiting thoughts and replaces that thinking with positivity and healthy habits, life is a rewarding and enjoyable journey.
By the grace of God and a lot of work on my behalf, I made a dramatic change in my thinking and habits until I arrived at the point where I am now, happy and healthy. When we use our experiences as a lesson to learn and draw strength from, surround ourselves with people who help us move toward a better life, it becomes the best gift we can ever give to ourselves and our family. Truthfully, the best gift a son can give on Father’s Day is to become a person their father can be proud of. Trust that relationships can be mended and remember to never give up on your dreams because dreams do come true. -Stephen R Smith https://www.lwnfoundation.org
Stephen Smith is a man who has gone to hell and come back from the depths of darkness to a place filled with Light, Love of God, himself and others. He made many good, but too many poor decisions that cost him everything he had. He lost businesses, two marriages, good family and friend relationships and everything else in between. He survived a few near fatal car accidents, deadly diseases including Hepatitis C and alcohol and drug addiction. Having for the most part lived an abundant and blessed life, he found himself fresh out of jail, homeless living in the woods and nothing but himself left. Today, he earned back most of what he lost. A real survivor, God fearing, honest, caring and compassionate person who strives to help others and give back freely in an effort to pay it forward with no expectation of reimbursement. He strives daily to become a better person and has made a transitional change which resulted in a lust for life and becoming a role model for others and an asset to the community. stephensmithsrq
The LWN Foundation
INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE MAGAZINE 23
CARMA SPENCE EDITOR, AUTHOR, SPEAKER, DIGITAL MARKETER, CONTENT DEVELOPER
Copyrighted by Carma Spence When the world changes practically overnight — like during this COVID-19 pandemic — what quality is most likely to help you and your business make it through? Creativity! However, many of us face obstacles to creativity every day. Humans are creative by nature. Alas, few of us use it to the best of our ability.
Think of this: Your ancestors wouldn’t have survived without creativity. Therefore, you are creative, as well — even if you don’t consciously acknowledge it. One of the biggest obstacles to creativity is the belief that you’re not creative! Creativity is a very personal process. Ask any three traditionally creative individuals — artists, musicians, writers, etc. — and you’ll probably get three different answers to, “What is your creative process?” Ask them what obstacles they face to their creativity and how they overcome them and, again, you’ll get three different answers. I can’t possibly know what obstacles you have in the way of your creativity; however, I can predict that they are included in the ones listed below. Take a look and discover some tips on how to overcome your particular obstacles, thereby enhancing your creativity in the process.
9 Biggest Obstacles to Creativity 1. Distractions Distraction is most likely the biggest obstacle to any creative process. If you want to focus on just one tip, this is the one. There are two ways to deal with distraction: Eliminate them or improve your ability to focus despite them. A two-pronged approach is best. · Remove as many distractions from your work area as possible. Identify the things that distract you and take them out of your work environment. This can mean different things to different people. Perhaps having music or the television on in the background is a distraction. Move them out of your workspace or move your workspace elsewhere. Perhaps having a bunch of things to do on your mind distracts you. Put them on a list and schedule them so you can relax your mind. · Learn to ignore those distractions you can remove. Believe it or not, it is possible to improve your ability to ignore distractions with practice.
26 INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE MAGAZINE
2. A lack of an end goal Be clear on what you’re attempting to create. Have a clear vision for the result. Be targeted in your approach. That’s where a combination of brainstorming and planning can help. Brainstorming lets you get all your myriad ideas out of your head. Planning helps you bring clarity from the chaos of ideas. Believe it or not, sometimes boundaries (rules, deadlines, and other limiting factors) can enhance creativity and remove obstacles to creativity. 3. A lack of practice You get better at being creative through practice. You can’t expect to be highly creative if you haven’t created anything in the last five years. Stretch your creative muscles regularly. That’s why people say the “writers write” or “dancers dance.” Making yourself express your creativity — however that might take form — regularly helps you annihilate obstacles to creativity from ever materializing. 4. Negative self-talk Negative self-talk leads to a fear of failure and procrastination. When you doubt yourself, your creativity is compromised. Replace your negativity with positivity. When you find yourself having a negative thought, change it into a positive one. As Emmet Fox says, don’t “entertain” the thought. If it helps, create a trigger phrase that can pull you out of the negative and into the positive. Barring that, you can ignore the negative things you say to yourself and press on. Just say, “thank you for sharing” to yourself and step over that particular obstacle to creativity. 5. Poor sleep or nutrition You might find your creativity enhanced when you’re comfortably tired or have an empty stomach. In most cases, however, the opposite is true. Get enough sleep and eat properly if you want your creativity powers at full power. 6. The need to be perfect Although the results may be beautiful, often the process of creating is ugly and messy. Most ideas don’t work and aren’t even remotely useful.
(I’ve lost count of the number of ideas I’ve had that, after the rush of excitement that comes with coming up with them, I’ve had to trash because I couldn’t implement them in an effective or meaningful way.)
Are You Ready to Nurture Your Creativity?
That’s okay. The first draft of anything is usually not the best, whether you’re writing a novel, painting a picture, or developing a business strategy. The need to be perfect is an excuse to procrastinate. Worry about perfecting your idea in the future. The beginning of the process isn’t the time. 7. Expecting creation to be easy If you can consistently create something valuable, you can count yourself among the richest people in the world. Creation is hard work, and there’s a lot of failure along the way. Expect the process to be challenging and you’ll rarely be disappointed. Embrace the challenge and push yourself. 8. Being too practical The best ideas often require outside-the-box thinking. Avoid being too practical at the beginning of the creative process. Dare to be outrageous and consider a few offbeat ideas. Remember, what may not be practical when you first think of it may turn out be to completely doable once you’ve had time to flesh out the idea. Remember, the most creative people in history were ridiculed and considered crackpots — at first. 9. Doubting your ability to be creative and overcome obstacles to creativity
In this 17-page downloadable PDF journal you’ll find: A workbook to help you explore what creativity means to you and your life Creativity exercises to help you grow your creativity Space to journal your thoughts and experiences with these exercises And pictures to color in as you relax into creative expression For only $7.99 you can begin your journey of creative expression today!
https://carma.thrivecart.com/my-creativity-journal/
The Mind Goblin of self-doubt is a formidable foe. However, I want to assure you that everyone — including you — is more creative than they’ll ever need to be. Some are more aware of this fact than others. If you label yourself as lacking creativity, your ability to be creative is severely compromised. You’re already creative, but you need to believe it to make the most of it. Avoiding the Obstacles to Creativity Is Half the Battle Avoiding the common obstacles listed above will help to unleash the creativity that already resides inside of you. Then you just need to take the wheel of your imagination-mobile and drive! You are creative because you are human. To deny your creativity is to deny part of what makes you a human being. Unleash your creativity in the world and surprise yourself in the process. You’ll be amazed by what you can do. ~ Carma Spence CarmaSpenceConsultant Carmaspence
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Carmaspence www.carmaspence.com/
Do You Want More Success and Happiness? Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible… in turning ideas, dreams, and desires into reality. But even S.M.A.R.T. goals won’t work if they aren’t right for you. This is the missing piece in most goal-setting training.
Carma Spence is an International best-selling author and award-winning speaker who helps women, introverts and shy people unleash their content creation superpowers and communicate their message with confidence so that they can create a meaningful and fulfilling legacy. With 20+ years experience in marketing communications and public relations, natural intuitive skills and certification in using some of the most effective transformational coaching tools available, Carma’s mission and commitment is to unleash the inner power her clients' possess so they can boldly go out into the world, transforming the fabric of people’s lives in meaningful and positive ways.
Set the Right Goals for You provides you with a 6-step process that helps you choose the right goals, articulate them clearly, and create a plan of action that will move you toward your goals and keep you on track. Available in ebook or spiral-bound workbook formats. A VIP miniretreat package is also available. https://www.carmaspence.com/rightgoals/
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INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE MAGAZINE 27
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7 SIMPLE STEPS TO SUCCESS MICHELLE MOORE WINDER ☆ C E L E B R I T Y Copyrighted by Michelle Winder
Steps you take TODAY will CHANGE your TOMORROW: 1.
GO to a beautiful, quiet place, that's relaxing, preferably outdoors. If possible, near
water. 2.
REFLECT on your best, most memorable, times in life. Times when you felt you could conquer the world! Write them down and look for a pattern. What did you dream of becoming when you were young? What were your secret desires?
3.
FOCUS on what you want in life. (Do NOT
pay attention to what you don't want.) WHY do you want it? Go DEEP! Keep asking yourself WHY until you get to the deepest core of your desire.
4.
DO NOT WORRY about the HOW- it will
the STARTING GATES when this pandemic
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coach and speaker who is authentic and entertaining. Her life experiences, including being raised from the dead, provide a wealth of wisdom for her dynamic, informative, speaking topics. She’s the first to tell you that TIME is not Money. TIME is LIFE- and we cannot waste it as though it’s loose change!
COME. If you would like help figuring out the 'HOW' I would be privileged to COACH, you
and TRAIN you toward your NEW LIFE of FREEDOM. I will train you to make more money, improve your relationships & enjoy better health so you can do whatever you want, whenever you want with whomever you want.
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come automatically! 5.
CHANGE your NEGATIVE EXPECTATIONS!! (Be honest. When you read #4, what was
your self-talk? Was it positive? Or negative?) CHANGE your NEGATIVE EXPECTATIONS!! (it bears repeating!) 6.
EXPECT IT! ACCEPT IT! Convince yourself you've ALREADY attained it! Thank God, often!
7.
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INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE MAGAZINE 29
SELLING VIRTUALLY WITH THESE 5 CRUCIAL STRATEGIES
MERIDITH POWELL
AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR, KEYNOTE SPEAKER, BUSINESS STRATEGIST, SALES/LEADERSHIP EXPERT Copyrighted by Meridith Powell
The Most Important Questions You Need To Answer Everyone is talking about selling virtually, and the skills you need as sales professionals to master the art. You need to get better at the video, better at e-mail writing, better at connecting, and better at engaging on social networking. And while all of that has an impact on your virtual sales success, it leaves out the essential part of virtual selling – the customer. You can get so focused on what you need to do, and what you need to change as sales professionals you lose sight of just how much has changed for your customers. Your One Job: Help Your Customers Virtually If you want to master the art of selling virtually, then understand your most important job is to help your customers buy virtually. As sales professionals, we have been selling virtually for years. Oh, we might not have using video conferencing that much and still had the luxury of closing a deal in person, but if we get right down to it, less has changed for us than our customers. Think about it, while we have been “mobile” or “working remotely” – using our cars and living rooms as an office for years – our customers have not. In a matter of weeks, they went from being surrounded by coworkers to being in a make-shift office interrupted continuously by their kids and family members. While they used to walk down the hall to get input and advice before making a decision, now they have to schedule a virtual meeting, get everyone using the new technology, and coordinate schedules.
The uncertainty that customers are feeling is your opportunity as a sales professional to help them make the buying process simple, easy, and useful.
5 Strategies to Help Your Customers Buy Virtually 1. Get in Their Perspective: This is not business as usual. You may have been right in the middle of a sale before this pandemic, but the moment your customer had to shelter in place, your sale changed. So, get perspective, and show a little empathy. Invest first in learning about their situation, how this is impacting them, their team, their family, and their company. Learn what has changed, so you know and understand the new environment you are selling into. 2. Uncover New Pain Points: Getting perspective leads to new pain points – new ones for your
32 INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE MAGAZINE
customers. Just like their circumstances have changed, so have their challenges, opportunities, and overall product needs identified. Now, you may be selling the same product, but you need to understand it is now solving a different pain point. 3. Keep It Simple: Your customers have enough change going on in their lives, and more to do than they can handle, so make the buying process simple. You may want to go for the big sale, but if there is a small problem you can solve or some pain you can ease quickly – do it. Keeping it simple, easy to work with will build trust, and trust leads to more sales. 4. Right Sales Tools: Have you done your homework? Investigated everything you need in today’s marketplace to close this sale? Technology for signatures? Ways to deliver products safely. How will things be serviced? You need the right tools in place before your customers ask. Be proactive with tools that ensure your customers know you are one step ahead. 5. Stay in The Game: Understand this selling environment has a long tail, and you need to stay in the game. Uncertainty means your customers will have interruptions, changes in priorities, and sometimes buying your product or service will fall to the bottom of their list. A strong value-add follow-up system will ensure when they’re ready to buy, you’re the first person they think of. Selling today can be a challenge, but it is also incredibly rewarding. Your customers need you! Take the time to start to think of this crisis from your customer’s perspective and do everything you can to make buying virtually that much easier. Emerge Successfully ~Meredith Powell
Meridith Powell was voted Top 15 Business Growth Experts to Watch by Currency Fair, and Top 41 Motivational Speakers, Meridith Elliott Powell is a is an award-winning author, keynote speaker and business strategistwho helps her clients learn the techniques they need to turn uncertainty to competitive advantage. An awardwinning author, Meridith’s latest book, with coauthor Mary Kelly, Ph.D., is Who Comes Next? Leadership Succession Planning Made Easy. With a background in corporate sales and leadership, her career expands over several industries including banking, healthcare, and finance. Meridith worked her way up from an entrylevel position to earn her seat at the C-Suite table. Meridith is a Certified Speaking Professional ©, a designation held by less than twelve percent of professional speakers. She is passionate about helping her clients learn the sales and leadership strategies they need to succeed no matter what this marketplace does. Meridith Elliot Powell CSP
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THE NEED FOR LEADERSHIP AND COMMUNITY BONDING FOR BUSINESS SUCCESS
SOULAIMA GOURANI
INVESTOR, SPEAKER, AUTHOR, ADVISOR, LIFE LEADERSHIP & DESIGN COACH Copyrighted by Soulaima Gourani Setting up and running a successful business is not effortless. Aside from effort and determination, there are two traits that many businesses and organizations lack but are required to achieve success, and they are: great leadership, and community bonding (also known as healthy corporate culture) and it is when you combine all these factors when running a business that you will be able to increase your revenue streams and influence in the community and market that you operate in. Most people, however, have a misconstrued view of leadership and believe that leadership entails mainly overseeing the operations of the business and coming up with the best strategies to future-proof the business, and although those are key components, there is also much more to leadership than this. Leaders of an organization typically head a team of workers whose primary objective is to ensure that the organization delivers on its objectives and goals as such. Therefore, leaders must inspire and motive those working for them to do as such. Most people, however, overlook the aspect of being inspiring leaders, and instead resort to threats of dismissal to get the workers to perform their duties. This strategy is not effective since it relies on fear to get the workers to perform, and fear is usually not the best motivator. It may get the job done momentarily, but you cannot use it to spur corporate success for the long run. Having workers operate out of fear is not suitable for business since it curtails their freedom and ability to interact with the clients in the best viable way. The best thing would be to inspire and encourage them to do more and to give more.
Another factor essential for corporate success is a strong corporatecommunity bond. For a company, being socially responsible and having a healthy corporate culture means using its resources and its influence to shape the lives of its fellow citizens including its employees for the better. It is only with a robust corporate-community bond that the company will prosper. Some ways businesses and leaders can build community bond is by organizing community outreach programs such as outside volunteer work, planting trees in community parks or visiting children hospitals. This allows workers and its organizational leaders to interact with one another outside business settings. Such activities create an emotional connection and loyalty to one another. Organizations will have to spend resources on such activities, however, the ROI from such ventures is usually high. A strong corporate/community bond bolsters company’s identity in the community, which can help bring in more customers to the business. Additionally, it also shows that the organization cares about the people and places that support its business, creating a positive impact on community members. Fear is a normal human emotion, that can sometimes be a functional or even necessary way to ensure that people do not become complacent, however, when fear becomes the norm for an organization’s culture, it can have toxic effects over the long run such as oppressing creativity, inhibiting collaboration and can lead to burnout. Running an organization is not without its challenges; it is up to the busi-
One way to remove fear from the work environment is to understand that your workers are humans and to err is human. So, when your employees make a mistake, be gentle when disciplining them. This shows that you care, and it will push them to perform their best, providing long term benefits to your organization.
36 INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE MAGAZINE
ness leaders to evaluate its operations to see what it needs to do to adapt to the new changes. ~ Soulaima Gourani soulaimagourani/
Soulaima Gourani
www.soulaima.com
Soulaima Gourani is the founder and CEO of Tradeconductor, a highly successful business, and global trade marketing consultancy that has helped countless major corporations become what they are today and an official expert at World Economic Forum’s (Expert Network) Behavioral Sciences & Education and Skills. She is a frequent motivational speaker at conferences with approximately 200 public talks/year around the world, online coach, corporate advisor to major companies on customer loyalty, sales, service strategies and employee motivation and the future of business + author of several bestseller books and has contributed to more than 14 books on leadership, change mgt, SCM and how to get success in life. Soulaima helps to serve a common purpose: to create more innovators, critical Thinkers, and problem solvers–more peace in the world. Www.bigspeak.com https:// soulaima.com
https://womenreignite.com INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE MAGAZINE 37
HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY LEAD A REMOTE TEAM—ONE MANAGER’S BEST ADVICE
GITTE RANDRUP HR BUSINESS PARTNER, CONSULTANT/ RECRUITER, BLOGGER Copyrighted by Gitte Randrup The labor market is currently experiencing an increasing lack of competent employees. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, many fields have a huge talent shortage. This is a big problem because it negatively affects turnover, productivity, and competitiveness. Thus, companies must be creative when seeking new employees or freelancers. In this situation, one solution may be to find new ways of locating skilled workers. Instead of having them come into the office, perhaps they could work remotely and remain in their home areas. This can be a good solution, as the talent pool will increase significantly.
comes in; to create a sense of cohesion in a team such that its members feel as though they are part of a joint project. Otherwise, you will end up with a team which doesn’t function as a unit. Video chat is helpful in that regard. Loss of control For Nielsen, the most difficult part of managing a remote team has been the feeling of a loss of control. As he puts it:
But what is it like to lead remotely? And how does it differ from leading a physically close group? Is it at all doable? These are questions that many leaders probably ask.
“A sense that you yield the control to other people … for me that was a huge challenge in the beginning. A barrier I had to cross and find out how to solve.”
GR Consult talked to Yan Knudtskov Nielsen about leading remote teams. Nielsen is the owner of Yan & Co, a company offering various types of homepage and web shop solutions. He manages a team of IT freelancers located in Denmark, Europe, and India. His message is that, basically, managing remotely is not vastly different from managing in the traditional form–it’s your management philosophy which is important. If you use the right tools and management style, you can successfully lead remote teams.
To overcome this challenge, Nielsen followed the advice of entrepreneur Derek Siver: “Trust but verify”. This expression means that you, as a manager, trust the person to whom you give a task (and, thereby, to whom you give control). Then you wait and see if the person earns your trust. Nielsen says:
Remote management – how to do it? Technology – to facilitate cohesion and coordination When it comes to coordination of who does what, why and when, it takes extra effort in a team whose members are geographically distant from each other. Various IT tools can help make the process easier. Yan & Co tries to keep things relatively simple by using three different programs. Trello is the project management tool and email threads are used for information. However, when team members want to socialize and talk about project statuses, they use video chat. “It is necessary that we now and then see each other and see ourselves as a team,” Nielsen says, adding:
“We cannot unravel other people when we’re not sitting close to them, with them physically. All the non-verbal, the body language. When we only communicate from text and email, then we quickly forget the human being and only focus on the numbers.” As human beings, we are created to be social. When we have a common purpose, we get together physically. This is where the challenge
40 INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE MAGAZINE
“And when you have been given enough confirmation, you’ll start trusting more and more; then you’ll know that the process is ok. And then you will find out during the process that other things can happen – exceptions to the rule. But do not panic and pull the strings back to you. Shrug it off and think to yourself, ‘Never mind; everything will probably be ok. Keep a cool head.” As human beings, we all make mistakes regularly. It might calm you to realize this fact. It’s also helpful to accept that as one person, you are good at some things, but lack competencies for other tasks. You do not have to be good at everything. If you accept that fact, you will more easily relinquish control. A larger personal aspect Nielsen tries to lead his team as though they were all sitting together in the same place. However, he stresses the necessity – to a larger extent – of focusing on one’s team members, as they do not have easy access to each other daily.
“I put more emphasis on writing an email and ask: ‘Hey, how is it going?’ If I’m under the impression that someone is behind, I seldom ask about it directly, as I believe there must be other reasons [for] it.
Instead, I open a dialogue by asking: ‘Are you ok?’ or ‘How are you doing?’ Sometimes that is enough to open a conversation, which is very important when managing remote teams.”
Gitte Randrup is an HR expert based in Copenhagen,
This is called “management with empathy”: the belief that everyone is doing their best according to the circumstances. If important deviations occur, it is because their circumstances have changed. It is more important to learn about this first than to point out that someone is falling behind.
Her vision is to create mutually satisfactory long-term working relationships between employers and employees combining business needs and strategy with the wants of the employees.
Communication – how to say what’s difficult Leaders who manage remote teams occasionally state that starting a difficult conversation is a challenge. They prefer to engage in these conversations face to face, because this allows them to see the other person’s body language. Nielsen agrees, saying:
Denmark, and the founder of GR Consult.
She is an advisor and HR Business Partner to managers on a wide range of HR subjects, such as recruiting, onboarding and organization and management.
Gitte holds university degrees within HR, Organization & Management and Languages. She has worked with HR in companies, such as GEA and Nordea. She is also an HR expert blogger on the Danish online debate forum Amino with more than 100,000 debaters and readers. http://grconsult.dk/en/ LinkedIn: Gitterandrup FB: @Gitterandrup
” I consider for a longer time how to put it if I need to criticize somebody’s work. It mustn’t be perceived as a critique, but rather to find out how to move on.” Furthermore, communication requires extra effort with a remote team. It is easier to “forget” that team members exist, as they are not sitting in front of you. So, in this way, it is necessary to do more than in any other kind of long-distance relationship. Six tips for managers considering a remote team 1. 2.
3. 4.
5. 6.
Start by talking to others who manage remote teams to find out what challenges they’ve experienced. Expect the same challenges that you would have if you were part of a physical team. The degree is just higher due to the distance. Work on your inner inspector (if you have one), so you will develop more trust for other people. You decided to hire a given employee or consultant. Therefore, you must depend on him or her to be the right person for the job. Start little by little – a few tasks for one person to begin with. Then see how it works out. Dip your toe. If the “water is cold,” do not pull out your entire foot. Rather, think about what you can do about the cold water, step by step.
Management – either from a distance or in the traditional way – is about your leadership style. However, when managing remote teams, it is important to focus on such aspects as video technology, coordination, communication, and personnel management, as you will be losing daily physical contact. It’s about being interested in your team members as people. Find out what they like and who they are as human beings. It’s easy not to do this, as your team members are not sitting in front of you. You might “forget” that they exist. Therefore, you must make an extra effort. However, it’s possible and can easily become a success. ~Gitte Randup http://grconsult.dk/en/ Gitterandrup Gitterandrup
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INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE MAGAZINE 41