Tag Archives: Leadership Development

Faith Is Like WiFi

Posted in Inspiration, Leadership, Manifesting, Mindfulness, Motivation, Success, Uncategorized by

Faith Is Like WiFi

Wifi

Wi-Fi is Invisible, but it’s real and it works!

Gravity is invisible, but it’s real and it works!

The air we breath is invisible, but it’s real and it works!

Faith is invisible, but it’s real and it works!

Faith is like Wi-Fi: It’s invisible, but has the power to connect you to exactly what you need!

When we are plugged into the source of our existence and count on that source to guide our lives, we are guaranteed that we will receive exactly what we need, when we need it, to carry out our purposes here on earth!!

Remember this and carry it into every aspect of your life – personal, social, and professional! Your Faith is POWERFUL and will keep you connected to The Source!

Dr. Carmen April          Dr. Carmen April is an entrepreneur and community leader recognized as a 2014 Nashville Emerging Leader (NELA) Award Winner, a 2013 Nashville Business Journal Top 40 Under Forty Award Recipient and is a 2014 Graduate of the New Leaders Council Institute – Nashville Chapter.  She’s a Podiatrist and Owner of The Foot And Ankle Healthcare Center in the Nashville, TN area. She’s also the creator/owner of “Design Your Story Coaching & Consulting” and is available for speaking engagements on Small Business Entrepreneurship.

There is Power in What We Think About and Thank About

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There is Power in What We Think About & Thank About!

Think About Thank About

          Plainly stated,  expressing Gratitude is one of the most important things you can do everyday to live a successful, victorious life!

            When you are truly thankful for all the things that allow you to live and breathe and have your being each and every day, you allow less and less room for dissatisfaction and complaining to take root in your mind. God/Creator/Universe honors gratitude and sends more of those things you are appreciative of your way!

When you change your thinking, you change your life!

When you are appreciative, your life changes!

Sounds like a win-win to me 🙂

Dr. Carmen April          Dr. Carmen April is an entrepreneur and community leader recognized as a 2014 Nashville Emerging Leader (NELA) Award Winner, a 2013 Nashville Business Journal Top 40 Under Forty Award Recipient and is a 2014 Graduate of the New Leaders Council Institute – Nashville Chapter.  She’s a Podiatrist and Owner of The Foot And Ankle Healthcare Center in the Nashville, TN area. She’s also the creator/owner of “Design Your Story Coaching & Consulting” and is available for speaking engagements on Small Business Entrepreneurship.

“God is Within her. She will not fail”

Posted in Inspiration, Leadership, Manifesting, Motivation, Success by

“God is Within Her. She will not fail” – Psalm 46:5

          Today’s post is really simple. The verse featured as the title of this blog post was on my heart and I wanted to share it.

          I set the intention of succeeding at everything I do, but honestly, some of the tasks that are before me initially appear to be overwhelming. However, I have to often remind myself that the Good Orderly Direction of the Universe, God, guides me day by day.

           Taking a little time to sit down & meditate on all the blessings I experience and posses, reminds me that I can and WILL conquer the day victoriously!

Dr. Carmen April

Dr. Carmen April          Dr. Carmen April is an entrepreneur and community leader recognized as a 2014 Nashville Emerging Leader Award (NELA) Winner, a 2013 Nashville Business Journal Top 40 Under Forty Award Recipient and is a 2014 Graduate of the New Leaders Council Institute – Nashville Chapter.  She’s a Podiatrist and Owner of The Foot And Ankle Healthcare Center in the Nashville, TN area. She’s also the creator/owner of “Design Your Story Coaching & Consulting” and is available for speaking engagements on Small Business Entrepreneurship.

Happy New Year 2015!

Posted in Inspiration, Leadership, Motivation, Success by

Happy New Year 2015

          Wow!!! We’ve made it to 2015 🙂 It’s such a blessing to be able to share my first post for the new year! I started this website and blog in January of 2014 and intended for it to be my “Grand Central Station” for all my websites, food blog, Leadership Blog, links to social media, etc and I’m so excited about carrying it into 2015 with new content and more encouragement for myself and all of you who come to visit my site!

          I don’t believe that anything just happens by accident, even something as seemingly small as you landing on my website. Whether it be because we are friends in real life and you saw the link to this post on my social media outlets, you subscribe to this website/blog or you were doing a “random” internet search for something Leadership related, I’m glad you landed here at this very moment because I hope something I’ve shared on these web pages encourages you, inspires you and/or gives you some kind of clarity!

          As a young entrepreneur who started my own medical practice (which continues to grow!), I started getting invitations to speak at various conferences, workshops and events. I loooove speaking to groups and encouraging others with things I know have been game changers for me in my career and life. I even delivered a couple of major Keynote Speeches in 2014! A couple of years ago I never thought that Leadership Speaking would be part of my way of impacting the world in a positive way but it is and I love it!

Dr Carmen April Leadership Speaker

Dr. Carmen April Speaking at a Conference in 2014

           The past couple of years I’ve focused mostly on teaching and speaking about Leadership for college students and young professionals. Throughout all of my countless hours of research over the past couple of years combined with a specific conviction that I have deep in my heart and soul, I’ve found a common thread among the vast majority of very successful people – those that I personally know and those whom I have studied.

          Are you ready for me to tell you the common thread that just lights up my soul because I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that it is a game-changer for most successful people??????

FAITH in a Power Bigger than ourselves!!!

          FAITH in a power bigger than ourselves! FAITH that assures us that if we do our part, our Higher Power will do its part! FAITH that reminds us that if we faint not, it will carry us through every situation. FAITH that trusts that even when the money may be running low as an entrepreneur, college student, young adult just starting out or person whose been working all of their adult life and has to start over because of a company lay-off, the sun will shine tomorrow and things WILL work out as long as you believe!!

          This Higher Power goes by many names – God, Spirit Guide, Higher Power, Father, Supreme Authority, Eternal Spirit, The Creator, etc. For me, it’s all of these names because no matter which one of these respected titles I call on at any given time during the day, it’s the same Spirit Guide who never leaves me or forsakes me. The same Spirit Guide who leads, guides and directs my steps every day. The same Spirit Guide who allows me to live, breathe and have my being each and every second of every day.

          99% of the Most successful people I know and/or have studied about over the past couple of years acknowledges that their successes are not because of their own doing. They have Faith that The Creator is a guiding light for them in all of their accomplishments.

          The closer you come to understanding the purpose for your life and allow this guiding light to lead, guide and direct you on a daily basis, the happier and more successful you’ll be!

          SUCCESS means doing what you like to do and doing it well – well enough to make you happy, gives you a sense of belonging and purpose in life, and shares light and positivity with the world.

          Over the past year, the term Life Leadership has had a strong vibration within me because I have come to the conclusion that the best Leaders in school, work, professional environments, etc are those who have a great sense of self and a great understanding of what really matters in life.

          So, starting today –  January 1st, 2015 – I plan to share more on my concept of Life Leadership. I hope my thoughts encourage you to become the best Leader you can be for your own life which will, in turn, make you a superb leader when it comes to leading others!

          Last year, I did a little exercise for myself to serve as a guide for 2014. I’m not huge on New Year’s Resolutions because most people don’t stick with them beyond the end of January anyways lol! My exercise involved choosing a word, a theme, for the year. I posted this word on my bathroom mirror so that I could mediate on it morning and night. I also placed it in my office so that it was one of the first things I could see hanging on the wall as I walked in every morning!

I’m so happy I did this because it guided me everyday!

          My phrase (As much as I tried to use just one word, I couldn’t narrow it down to just one LOL) for 2014 was:

“COUNT ON IT”!

          I prayed for things to work out and improve in certain areas of my life and business at the end of 2013, start of 2014 and every day since. I declared that the phrase “COUNT ON IT” would be my theme for 2014. Let me tell you – Before the clock struck 12 Midnight into the new year of 2015, I already saw things I had been praying about coming to fruition in my life!!!! Situations, relationships, financial matters, personal growth and my faith all improved because everyday I reminded myself that I was counting on my blessings – COUNT ON IT. COUNT ON IT. COUNT ON IT.

This exercise is powerful because:

❐ We ARE what we THINK & FEEL!

❐ We BECOME what we THINK & FEEL!

❐ Our actions REFLECT what we THINK and FEEL!

❐ The more you think about and feel Happiness, the more Happiness you attract and the happier you’ll be.

❐ The more you think about Joy and being Joyful, the more Joy you will attract and the more Joyful you will be!

❐ The more you think positively about Money, they more Money you will attract.

❐ Vice versa, the more negative you are in situations, the more negative situations you will attract.

❐ The more negativity and complaining you share on social media, the more negative situations will come your way for you to complain about.

❐ Remember, the thoughts, feelings and words you speak all have POWER and what you send out comes back…….. It’s like a boomerang!!!!

❐ I encourage you in 2015 to be aware of the words you speak. Choose to speak Positive Words of Power over your life and your circumstances.

          I’ve already chosen my “THEME”/word for 2015 and I encourage you do this for yourself! In fact, I’m going to help you along :-). I’ve created some jpeg and PDF images below that I want you to fill out with “Your Word” for 2015.  You can print it out, fill it out, post on your bathroom mirror, fridge, office space, etc and let it serve as a reminder to you everyday to study, meditate upon, pray upon and share with others about it!

I’m not going to reveal my word for 2015 until later in the year, but I’ve given you an example of what I did for 2014.

         Your word may be one of the following: Joy, Happiness, Peace, Serenity, Dedication, Forgiveness, Recovery, Excitement, Money, etc.

          Whatever, your word may be, I want you to eat it, live it, breath it, and sleep it (you catch my drift lol) for the entire duration of 2015!! As you start to recognize breakthroughs and “Aha moments” in your life as it relates to your theme, please share them with me! You can share them with me here on the blog – on this post specifically.

          Please feel free to print out as many of the images below as you would like and share them with your friends, family members, co-workers, etc. (*****Note: Click on the link highlighted in red beneath each jpeg image for the PDF version).

May your 2015 be as Prosperous and Blessed as you Imagine it will be 🙂

Word for 2015

Word for 2015 Paintbrush PDF

Theme for 2015

Theme for 2015 Pink Multicolor

Theme for 2015

Theme for 2015 Pink

Theme for 2015

Theme for 2015 Blue

Theme for 2015

Theme for 2015 Multicolor

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dr. Carmen April          Dr. Carmen April is an entrepreneur and community leader recognized as a 2014 Nashville Emerging Leader Award (NELA) Winner, a 2013 Nashville Business Journal Top 40 Under Forty Award Recipient and is a 2014 Graduate of the New Leaders Council Institute – Nashville Chapter.  She’s a Podiatrist and Owner of The Foot And Ankle Healthcare Center in the Nashville, TN area. She’s also the creator/owner of “Design Your Story Coaching & Consulting” and is available for speaking engagements on Small Business Entrepreneurship.

10 Leadership Lessons Learned from Motown

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10 Leadership Lessons Learned from Motown

Lessons learned from Motown

              It’s no secret that I love Motown Music!! I mean, I REALLY love Motown music and everything about the early days of Motown! If you don’t believe me, check out this link! I lived in Detroit for 3 years (during my residency training) before I moved to Nashville and loved it! I’ve always been familiar with Detroit because I have lots of family there, but living there for 3 years was a wonderfully unique experience. There is so much to take in about the history of Motown and how Berry Gordy started this brand with a single $800 loan from his family!

               One visit to the birthplace of Motown, Hitsville USA, had me completely in awe of the empire that was built by the hard work and creativity of the Motown Artists under the direction and vision of Mr. Gordy. Here are some Leadership Insights we can all take from the makings of the Motown Brand:

1.) You have to start somewhere – Motown Founder, Barry Gordy, was working on the assembly line at a Ford Motor Company Factory prior to starting Motown. He became inspired by the musical sounds the machines made as they were working to fabricate car parts. He began writing for local singers including Jackie Wilson. Realizing that the major financial advantage was on the executive side of the business, Barry decided to secure a $800 loan from his family’s loan fund and founded Motown in 1959!

2.) Take risks and don’t be afraid of failure – With just $800 and some of what he made off royalties from writing for local singer, Jackie Wilson, Gordy had a vision for his record company. He knew there was a chance he might fail, but he did not let that stop him. He was determined to make his dream a reality!

3.) Work with what you already know. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel; just grease it a little bit! – Gordy had never owned a record label or music company before nor had he ever been an executive in any company prior to starting Motown. He worked in a car factory, but used that experience, the dedicated long hours on the assembly line, understanding mass production of cars (from which he used as inspiration for mass production of records), etc to make his new venture successful. Gordy ran Motown almost like a factory. The studio was open 22 hours a day and there were quality control measures in place to ensure that only the best music was being produced and released.

4.) Start small – Motown started in that one small house on West Grand Blvd in Detroit, MI. There was a photography studio in the back that was turned into a small recording studio. Berry Gordy and his family turned the 2nd floor into living quarters for themselves. By 1966, the company had grown so much that it started buying nearby houses – approximately 8 of them. In that same amount of time (7 years) the company grew to over 450 employees and grossed an income of over $20 Million!

5.) Invest in team members essential to your Brand Image – Early on, Mr Gordy brought an etiquette coach, Maxine Powell, on board to refine the style and charm of all the Motown artists. Because many of the early Motown artists were from Detroit housing projects, this move was pivotal in creating the “Motown Look” for artists. Ms Powell, who passed away in October of 2013 at the age of 98, ran the Motown Finishing School where she taught the artists how to dress, dining etiquette, grooming, interviewing skills, etc. “I taught young artists the life skills they needed to succeed,” Powell once said. “I taught class, style and refinement. I told them they were being taught to stand before kings and queens at Buckingham Palace and the White House, and they did.”

6.) Have a consistent cohesive appearance for everyone on the team – The clean-cut, well-groomed, well-tailored appearance of the Motown artists is one thing that always comes to mind when talking about Motown. Gordy knew that in order for the Motown artists to break into popular culture and mainstream America, they would have to look, dress and act like royalty. Their performance attire was always cohesive and classy. The artists were elegant on stage, during interviews and other public appearances. They functioned as cohesive units.

7.) Allow only your best work to make it into the hands of customers and clients – Gordy held quality control meetings every Friday and would only let the absolute best music be released to the public. If he didn’t feel like a given song would make it into the top 5 of the charts, he didn’t let it leave the studio.

8.) Be so good, they can’t ignore you! – As the Motown Brand began to take off, the momentum could not be ignored. The artists’ brand was consistent across the board. A Motown song can come on the radio right now and even if you’ve never heard it before, that Trademark sound is recognizable anywhere! The artists began to travel the country and then the world! They even began going into areas that black artists were not allowed to enter previously.

9.) Do it with class – Of course with fame and stardom in the music industry came substance abuse issues and alcoholism among some of the artists – ever see the Five Heartbeats or The Temptations movies (Two of my all time favorite movies, by the way!)? However, the image the public was presented with was one of class and sophistication. I say, “Do it with class or not at all!”

10.) Become a great storyteller and be able to tell your story better than anyone else! – The Motown story is iconic because what they delivered was iconic! The emotions that Motown music elicits is one of a kind! I wasn’t even alive when Motown got started, but even now in 2014, the music is on constant rotation on my iPod. I’ve been super excited being backstage at The Four Tops and Temptations concerts and I always know Christmas Season is in full effect when I hear Silent Night by the Temptations played on the radio every year. Motown has taken great care to tell their story and years later, it continues to resonate with people of all ages!

Dr. Carmen with The Four TopsHere is a photo I took backstage with The Four Tops during one of their recent concerts in Nashville with the Nashville Symphony. My wonderful cousin, Mr Robie Nichols, has been their wardrobe Manger/Stylist for years and always hooks me up with tickets and backstage access when they are in town!

— Dr. April

Dr. Carmen April's Speaker Series

               Dr. Carmen April is an entrepreneur and community leader recognized as a 2014 Nashville Emerging Young Leader Award Winner, a 2013 Nashville Business Journal Top 40 Under Forty Award Recipient and is a 2014 Graduate of the New Leaders Council Institute – Nashville Chapter.  She’s a Podiatrist and Owner of The Foot And Ankle Healthcare Center in the Nashville, TN area. She’s also the creator/owner of “Design Your Story Coaching & Consulting” and is available for speaking engagements on Small Business Entrepreneurship.

Remember This 1 Thing When The Going Gets Tough

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Remember This 1 Thing When The Going Gets

Tough……

Everything is Figureoutable, Life coach, Nashville life coach

                   Everything is Figureoutable!! Figureoutable is, of course, not a real word….Ha! However, ever since I heard Marie Forleo say it in one of her videos a while back, it has become a frequent part of my vocabulary! I have plastered it on my refrigerator, my bathroom mirror, on sticky notes in my office and on my desk at home. Life can really throw us some doozies (is that a real word, either lol?!??!) from time to time, but we have to remind ourselves that everything has the ability to be figured out. It may take longer than we desire, but it is possible!

So, the next time you encounter a tough situation that initially seems overwhelming, what should you remember?!?!?

That’s right…..Everything is FIGUREOUTABLE!

Dr. Carmen April's Speaker Series

               Dr. Carmen April is a young entrepreneur and community leader recognized as a 2014 Nashville Emerging Leader Award (NELA) Winner, a 2013 Nashville Business Journal Top 40 Under Forty Award Recipient and is a 2014 Graduate of the New Leaders Council Institute – Nashville Chapter.  She’s a Podiatrist and Owner of The Foot And Ankle Healthcare Center in the Nashville, TN area. She’s also the creator/owner of “Design Your Story Coaching & Consulting” and is available for speaking engagements on Small Business Entrepreneurship.

Persistence is An Essential Element of Success

Posted in Inspiration, Leadership, Motivation, Success, Uncategorized by

Persistence is an Essential Element of

Success

Persistence, Life coach, Nashville life coach

               The Road to Success is extremely individualized for each and every person on the planet. There is no magic formula that works for everyone. However, there are some common themes that can be found when examining what I like to call the “how I made it” stories of successful people. While reading these behind the scenes stories over the years I have found a common thread among them all – > PERSISTENCE!

              Persistence is that attitude that keeps you going even when you don’t want to. It’s what keeps you up late at night working on a project that really needs to get done, even when you just want to quit and go to bed. Persistence is that special element that keeps you doing the things that other people don’t want to do when they get mentally or physically fatigued. Persistence is the special element that keeps you going after failure, big or small, and encourages you to start over and try again!

                The most successful people are those who have formed the habit of being persistent and doing things they don’t want to do when they don’t want to do them! They are willing to do this because they are focused on the bigger picture. They are focused on achieving that which they have set out to achieve!!!

Here are a couple of quotes about Persistence that I hope will keep you motivated when you are ready to throw in the towel:

“We are what we repeatedly do; Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” – Aristotle

“Ambition is the path to success. Persistence is the vehicle you arrive in.” – Bill Bradley

“Talent is nothing without persistence” – Dean Crawford

(Note: You can click on these quotes above to Tweet them!)

Dr. Carmen April's Speaker Series

               Dr. Carmen April is a young entrepreneur and community leader recognized as a 2014 Nashville Emerging Leader Award (NELA) Winner, a 2013 Nashville Business Journal Top 40 Under Forty Award Recipient and is a 2014 Graduate of the New Leaders Council Institute – Nashville Chapter.  She’s a Podiatrist and Owner of The Foot And Ankle Healthcare Center in the Nashville, TN area. She’s also the creator/owner of “Design Your Story Coaching & Consulting” and is available for speaking engagements on Small Business Entrepreneurship.

Let Them Talk First

Posted in Inspiration, Leadership, Motivation, Networking, Success, Uncategorized by

Let Them Talk First

Life coach, Nashville Life coach

                When meeting and networking with new people, one of the things that’s pretty effective during the communication is to let the other person talk first. After the greetings and introductions, let the person you have just met talk first. You can do this by asking them a question about where they are from, what they do for a living, what brought them to the networking event, etc. Allowing the other person to talk first is a way to immediately establish trust because you are taking the time to listen to what that person has to say. People, in general, love to talk about themselves and share what’s going on their lives so let them talk. Moreover, if being in networking situations freaks you out a little bit, this is also a way for you to take some of the pressure off yourself!

               I will caution against drilling a person you just met with questions so much so that they can’t get a word in to ask you anything about yourself. I have been in plenty of networking situations in which I felt like I was being interrogated because of question after question they were throwing at me.

Remember, allowing the other person to talk about themselves first and drilling them with questions are two different things!

What other tips do you have for effective networking??

Dr. Carmen April's Speaker Series

              Dr. Carmen April is a young entrepreneur and community leader recognized as a 2014 Nashville Emerging Leader Award (NELA) Winner, a 2013 Nashville Business Journal Top 40 Under Forty Award Recipient and is a 2014 Graduate of the New Leaders Council Institute – Nashville Chapter.  She’s a Podiatrist and Owner of The Foot And Ankle Healthcare Center in the Nashville, TN area. She’s also the creator/owner of “Design Your Story Coaching & Consulting” and is available for speaking engagements on Small Business Entrepreneurship.

How NOT to Undercut Your Suggestion Before You Even Give It!

Posted in Inspiration, Leadership, Motivation, Success, Uncategorized by

How NOT to Undercut Your Suggestion Before You Even

Give It!

Life coach, Nashville life coach

                  I’ve seen what I’m discussing here today happen all too often and it involves beginning suggestions like this –>  “I don’t know if this will be a good idea or not, but………”. The mere fact that this statement started off with a negative tone pretty much sets up the rest of the statement for failure! Phrasing a statement like this sends a message that you lack confidence in what you are preparing to say or that you don’t think your are worthy of the authority it takes to make this type of suggestion.

A couple of other ways I’m sure you’ve heard this stated is:

* “This may sound silly, but……..”

{OR}

* “I don’t know if the group will want to go with this decision, but………”.

                Instead, focus on what you are trying to convey and say it with positive affirmation. Be confident in your statements and say things like:

* “My suggestion is this……..”

* “I Believe our best bet is to ………..”

* “Let’s try to make this work doing X, Y, Z as our method

                   If you’re already in the habit of starting off most of your suggestions with a negative tone, it may take some practice to stop yourself from doing so, but you most certainly CAN change this habit! Practice speaking with confidence and authority. Don’t shoot yourself in the foot before you even get started! Work diligently to clearly communicate your thoughts so that those you are speaking to feel the confidence you should be commanding as a leader.

Dr. Carmen April's Speaker Series

             Dr. Carmen April is a young entrepreneur and community leader recognized as a 2013 Nashville Business Journal Top 40 Under Forty Award Recipient and is a 2014 Graduate of the New Leaders Council Institute – Nashville Chapter.  She’s a Podiatrist and Owner of The Foot And Ankle Healthcare Center in the Nashville, TN area. She’s also the creator/owner of “Design Your Story Coaching & Consulting” and is available for speaking engagements on Small Business Entrepreneurship.

3 Ways to Make Forming New Habits Easier

Posted in Failure, Inspiration, Leadership, Motivation, Success, Uncategorized by

3 Ways to

Make Forming New Habits Easier!

           Think of habits as your brain’s specialized Productivity Center! Habits are formed after an activity has been performed at least once and eventually become behavior that is automatic. Think about some of your daily habits such as getting up in the morning to brush your teeth, exercising around the same time everyday, and going to bed at a certain time every night, etc. The first time, or first couple of times, you perform a specific activity, it probably takes a bit of concentration, attention to detail, energy, and brain power to perform. However, once you start to perform any given activity over and over, the amount of mental effort you have to exert becomes less.

          There is a ton of science involved in explaining how our minds specifically form habits and is beyond what I am discussing here today. My focus in this post is discussing how forming new habits can lead to personal success for you!

If you want to change or “break” a habit, you have to find an alternative to that habit that offers the same reward (Tweet this).

           Let’s take smoking for example. It’s difficult for people to break the habit of smoking because there are not many healthy alternatives that excite that same area of the brain that nicotine from smoking does. Smoking and other habits are hard to break because they have become automatic for people to do them without thinking!

Here are 3 Suggestions to start changing your habits today:

1.) Start Small – Start small, with an alternative to the old habit, that is actually achievable. If you want to begin the habit of working out more often, start with just going to the gym or the park 1 day per week for 30 minutes. Do this repeatedly for a couple of weeks until it becomes a new habit, then increase the frequency and/or duration.

2.) Be committed to Repetition – Do you know someone who ALWAYS seems to misplace their keys? Whether it’s you (Yes, you!) or someone else you know, create a place such as a key ring holder on the wall that you place your keys on each and every single time you enter that given space ie – work, home, purse etc. When you come home and are tempted to simply throw the keys on the kitchen counter, resist and remind yourself that you are committed to changing your habit and take the couple of extra steps required to place them in the designated spot.

3.) Have a plan in place to pivot away from undesirable habits to more desirable habits no matter how many times it takes. Example: If you have formed the habit of starting your suggestions in business meetings in a negative tone, know that it is OK to stop in the middle of your sentence, pause for a second and say something like, “Let me start over……….”, immediately correcting that habit and beginning your statement with confidence.

What other suggestions do you have for helping to form new habits?

Dr. Carmen April's Speaker Series

                Dr. Carmen April is a young entrepreneur and community leader recognized as a 2013 Nashville Business Journal Top 40 Under Forty Award Recipient and is a 2014 Graduate of the New Leaders Council Institute – Nashville Chapter.  She’s a Podiatrist and Owner of The Foot And Ankle Healthcare Center in the Nashville, TN area. She’s also the creator/owner of “Design Your Story Coaching & Consulting” and is available for speaking engagements on Small Business Entrepreneurship.