Motivation to Success!

According to the results of recent surveys in the UK, US and Ireland more than 50% of the workforce is unhappy with their career or job.

Most of these people are unhappy with the actual tasks they are doing in their job. The only way they will be happier is if they do something totally different – i.e., take a different career direction. The same goes for a lot of people who are made redundant.

These people have a choice, stay with the career they are or were in, or change it. The biggest thing preventing you from getting a career you love… believe it or not… is YOU!

Many people are simply not prepared to put in the effort needed, preferring to take the easy way out and accept second best… or maybe even whatever seemed like a good idea at the time. They do what they had the points for in their leaving cert or what their parents did/told them to do. Or they come up with excuses such as financial restraints.

It’s important to realise that choosing a career (or changing careers) is right up there with getting married, having kids, and buying a house. It is one of the most important decisions you will ever make in your life! For a few decades you will spend 60 odd hours out of 168 each week working and travelling to and from work.

And what happens at work, whether it’s good or bad, affects ALL the other aspects of your life – your health, family, finances, relationships, self-esteem and so on.

Choosing a career is NOT something that can be done in less than five minutes, but unfortunately, that’s how much thought some people put into it. Then 5 years later they are still on the factory floor, or answering phones at a call centre, selling door to door or in the same office doing the same every day.

Choosing a career involves much more:

1. Looking closely at yourself
2. Researching jobs which might be suitable
3. Being able to make a decision, and
4. Acting on, and being happy with, that decision.

The first of these steps in finding a career you love is “self-discovery”. It looks at such things as:

* The things you like and dislike doing
* The things you are good and bad at doing
* The skills you have or need to get
* Your achievements to date, and what you want to achieve in the future
* Your attitudes, values and personal style.

A thorough, honest and realistic self-assessment is vital if you are to gather the necessary information to make a good career decision… if you are to find a career you might love to do! If you want to find a job that is not work anymore!

That’s where my I come in with my career coaching package. While people can just opt for a new CV or interview technique sessions, I encourage a broader view on how to choose a career or change to the career you always wanted.

First the client and myself look at what makes them tick, what their core values are, what needs to be in place for them to be happy. This can range from family to faith to competitiveness to control to joy. We then use these values as a benchmark for career identification.

Then we look at the clients existing skills, strengths and character traits. They might be skilled at talking or problem solving, their strength might be a natural sense of humour and their character may be Loyal and Supportive.

We then explore the client’s interests, hobbies and favourite things. What is their favourite pastime? What do you read books on? How do you like spending a Sunday afternoon, if you won the Lottery how would you spend it etc…

When we have the results of all the exercises and work done, we match all of these with the ideal role in the ideal industry for the client.

Once this work is completed we start the actual practical work of skills gap analysis, CV and cover letter writing, interview preparation and job searching. Another USP is that I always personally follow through until the client secured a job or is satisfied with the progress made. This is done on a 1 to 1, confidential basis with the client’s agenda as the only one in town.

So ask yourselves and those around you the question if they want to get what they really want from the rest of their career or if they want to settle for second best? If you or them want to stop dreading Mondays, please get me their number so I can call them for a no charge consultation.

Patrick Mercie, 4ward 2 Success, your career coached 1 VIP at a time.

- Taking responsibility for your Life –

4ward 2 Success are delighted to announce Patrick Mercie’s seminar, to be held in the wonderful Absolute Hotel on Sir Harry’s Mall in Limerick. www.absolutehotel.com

Saturday 15/05 1000-1300 Seminar. ‘It’s your move next.’ Here Patrick will deliver a 3 hour high energy interactive talk about the how to and benefits of taking full responsibility for all your actions, thoughts and feelings. You will hear how you can take a level of control of every situation you face and empower yourself to deal with them YOUR way. Patrick uses examples from his own journey of self development to enhance the experience.

Your investment in this seminar is €25.

Testimonials for Patrick’s recent workshops:

‘I recently had the pleasure of attending Patrick Mercie’s Goal Setting workshop. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, the content was exactly what was required to get me started implementing specific goals and it was delivered with energy and enthusiasm’ – Laura Scanlon, Impressive Impact E-Brochures, Sixmilebridge – laura@noelscanlon.com

‘It was the first occasion I have ever written down my goals and I found the exercise very interesting. Patrick made the event fun and a very comfortable forum for all. I look forward to implementing my action plan.’ – Eugene Ryan – Qualified Financial Adviser, Limerick City eugeneryanqfa@gmail.com

Profile: Patrick graduated and qualified as a Personal & Business Coach with the Irish Lifecoach Institute (ILI) in 2007 and has this Diploma accredited by the Life & Business Coaching Association of Ireland (LBCAI). Patrick has been successfully coaching people from all walks of life towards taking responsibility for their future by acting on it today. Patrick’s style of working is interactive, motivational, energetic and above all positive minded. Patrick has been described by his clients as ‘infectious’ in positive thinking and attitude.

 Book NOW by contacting Patrick @ 083-3008963 or patrickmercie66@hotmail.com

Your Life Coached 1 VIP at a time!!

Patrick Mercie, 4ward 2 Success, 083-3008963.

4ward 2 Success are delighted to announce that Patrick Mercie is delivering a series of open workshops designed specifically with enhancing your quality of life in mind! Patrick mentions that the idea behind these workshops “is for people to stop the blame game and start taking responsibility for their own future”.

The next of these interactive modules is a ‘Career Guidance’ workshop which will now take place on Thursday the 29^th of April, from 1900 to 2130 PM, venue Absolute Hotel, Limerick.

The workshop is ideal for unemployed people, people who were recently made redundant or people who would like to change career.

This workshop covers and delivers the following for all participants:

1) Assessing your current position and using it as a start for your future career. At the end of this section all participants will know what is essential for their future career and what skills they have to offer.

2) Career Identification. How do you go about finding that career for you? Goal Setting for your career. All Participants will be able to establish in what field where their ideal career lies.

3) How to increase your chance of landing that job you always wanted. The bulk of the workshop will be spent on this. Here the participant will be shown the do’s and don’ts on how to write company specific CV’s and cover letters; as well as how to perform at interviews.

4) Patrick will share what resources the participants can use in their search for the next step in their career. From people to online resources, he will show you what is out there for you.

Profile: Patrick graduated and qualified as a Personal & Business Coach with the Irish Lifecoach Institute (ILI) in 2007 and has this Diploma accredited by the Life & Business Coaching Association of Ireland (LBCAI). Patrick has been successfully coaching people from all walks of life towards taking responsibility of their future by acting on it today. Patrick’s style of working is interactive, motivational, energetic and above all positive minded. Patrick has been described by his clients as ‘infectious’ in positive thinking and attitude.

Your investment in this workshop is €35.

To book one of the limited places on this workshop you need to contact Patrick Mercie by emailing him on patrickmercie66@hotmail.com or calling him on 083-3008963. Deposits will be asked for to guarantee your place.

In light of our upcoming ‘Goal Setting’ Workshop which is on this Thursday the 8th of April from 1900 to 2100 in the Absolute Hotel in Limerick (still places available), Patrick thought he would warm you up with 12 tips for enhanced success in achieving the Goals you set for your self. Enjoy!

1. ’Desire is the starting point of all achievement’ (Napoleon Hill). What is the reason for the goal? What is the desire? Develop that desire.

2. Believe you can achieve it! Really believe you will do it!

3. WRITE it down in detail. Make it tangible by putting it on paper!

4. Make a list of all the ways YOU will benefit from achieving it.

5. Take the time to analyse where you are right now in relation to the Goal and accept your starting point without blame or worries attached.

6. Set a deadline for the goal, a fixed date. This helps as a motivator.

7. Make a list of all the obstacles that might occur on your path towards achievement. Then list what you can do about them if or when they happen. This ensures you know what to do at that moment.

8. Identify all information you need to get, where to get it from and when you will get it.

9. Make a list of all the people you need to assist you. Also think of what you can do for them.

10. Prepare a detailed action plan with all steps, time frames, people, information etc…

11. Visualise the achievement. Either see yourself achieving it in your mind or use pictures of it and hang them around your house or workplace.

12. Make the decision to NEVER give up! You are probably nearer to achieving it then you think.

‘Many people fail in life, not for lack of ability or brains or even courage but simply because they have never organized their energies around a goal.’ Elbert Hubbard

4ward 2 Success are delighted to announce that Patrick Mercie is delivering a rerun of his ‘Goal Setting’ workshop designed specifically with enhancing your quality of life in mind! Patrick mentions that the idea behind this workshop “is for people to stop the blame game and start taking responsibility for their own future”.

This ‘Goal Setting’ workshop will take place on Thursday the 8th of April, from 1900 to 2100 PM, in the Absolute Hotel in Limerick. For directions check http://www.absolutehotel.com/directions

What is unique about this workshop is that it is interactive and will yield individual results for ALL the participants. It will also give them concrete goals to work towards for themselves afterwards.

The workshop consists of four integral parts:

1. Goal identification through value based exercises
2. Reality check using the SMART checking system
3. Golden tips for enhanced success on goal achievement
4. Design of your own action plan.

Testimonials for this workshop:

‘ I recently had the pleasure of attending Patrick Mercie’s Goal Setting workshop. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, the content was exactly what was required to get me started implementing specific goals and it was delivered with energy and enthusiasm’ – Laura Scanlon, Impressive Impact E-Brochures, Sixmilebridge – laura@noelscanlon.com

‘It was the first occasion I have ever wrote down my goals and I found the exercise very interesting. Patrick made the event fun and a very comfortable forum for all. I look forward to implementing my action plan.’ – Eugene Ryan – Qualified Financial Adviser, Limerick City eugeneryanqfa@gmail.com

Profile: Patrick graduated and qualified as a Personal & Business Coach with the Irish Lifecoach Institute (ILI) in 2007 and has this Diploma accredited by the Life & Business Coaching Association of Ireland (LBCAI). Patrick has been successfully coaching people from all walks of life towards taking responsibility of their future by acting on it today. Patrick’s style of working is interactive, motivational, energetic and above all positive minded. Patrick has been described by his clients as ‘infectious’ in positive thinking and attitude.

To book one of the limited places on this workshop fill in the form below and send with cheque or bank draft for €35 to 4ward 2 Success, 35 Meadowbrook, Mill Road, Corbally, Limerick.

For more info on the workshop or 4ward 2 Success programs email Patrick on patrickmercie66@hotmail.com or call him on 083-3008963.

Book a Place on the ‘Goal Setting’ Workshop in Limerick on 08/04 from 1900 to 2100 for me please:

Name: …………………………………………………………………………………….

Address: …………………………………………………………………………………

Mobile: …………………………………………………………………………………..

Email: …………………………………………………………………………………….

Please enclose cheque or bank draft for €35 and send to:

4ward 2 Success, 35 Meadowbrook, Mill Road, Corbally, Limerick. You will be contacted with confirmation of your place at this workshop.

4ward 2 Success are delighted to announce Patrick Mercie’s April and May workshop and seminar schedule, all to be held in the wonderful Absolute Hotel on Sir Harry’s Mall in Limerick. www.absolutehotel.com

These workshops and seminars are all flying under the same banner of ‘Taking responsibility for your own life!’.

More details as well as booking opportunities will be coming your way very soon but here are the dates and topics to wet your appetite:

Thursday 08/04 1900-2100 Rerun on demand of the popular ‘Goal Setting Workshop’. All participants will walk away with goals set and action plans made.

Saturday 17/04 1000-1300 Career Coaching Workshop. Through practical exercises and golden tips all participants will be taken through the do’s and don’ts of career identification, CV preparation and interview techniques. A great morning for all the unemployed and redundant people of the area or the people who want to change career.

Thursday 06/05 1900-2100 ‘Effective Communications’ workshop. You will become more efficient and successful in your relationships at home and in the workplace if you learn how to communicate effectively. This workshop is highly interactive to promote intense learning.

Saturday 15/05 1000-1300 Seminar. ‘It’s your move next.’ Here Patrick will deliver a 3 hour high energy talk about the how to and benefits of taking full responsibility for all your actions, thoughts and feelings. You will hear how you can take control of every situation you face and empower yourself to deal with them YOUR way. Patrick uses examples of his own journey of self development to enhance the experience.

I hope you agree this varied schedule should have something for all to look forward to. More details to follow in the coming days!! Have a fantastic Day.

Patrick Mercie, 4ward 2 Success, 083-3008963.

4ward 2 Success are delighted to announce their first workshop for 2010. Patrick Mercie MLBCAI will be delivering an Effective Communications workshop on Saturday morning 13/02/2010 from 1000 until 1300 in the Mall Suite of the Absolute Hotel on Sir Harry’s Mall in Limerick. Directions to the hotel are on http://www.absolutehotel.ie/directions

Please find below the details of the workshop:

Improve your personal and professional relationships!

Who is the workshop for?

Professionals, managers, parents, sports coaches, families, spouses, YOU!

What is the purpose of this workshop?

As with all 4ward 2 Success workshops you learn by actively taking part in exercises, role plays, games & group discussions.

As a result the purpose is individual learning and results in:

• Improving your communication skills
• Building better relationships
• Reducing stress at home or in the workplace
• Becoming more effective and productive as part of a unit/group
• Improving your problem solving abilities

The workshop will in a proactive way provide you with an understanding of how we communicate, how to use your tone of voice and body language, how to listen to more than what is said, how to ask the appropriate questions at the appropriate moments and how to understand and use your own interaction style to your benefit.

Booking is required and can be done @ 083-3008963 or by emailing patrickmercie66@hotmail.com

Your investment for this 3 hour workshop is €40.

A lot of us every New Year after 2 cans of Lager to many make New Year resolutions of all kinds. We are going to climb Kilimanjaro barefoot, give up smoking after we finished the 400 packs we got in Lanzarote, walk the dog 8 days a week, never get angry anymore at politicians, get fit watching Davina McCall fitness DVD’s, support our local sports team instead of watching reruns of Leinster’s Heineken Cup win on Sky Sports 7 and so on.

Inevitably by the 5th of January you have blisters from walking the kitchen floor barefoot, got another 100 packs for New Year of your neighbour who came back from Gran Canaria, realise there is only 5 days in the week you want to walk that dog, get hit by another 5% levy and spit at the politician on your telly, eat 10 packs of crisps and drink 2 more cans of lager watching Davina do it for you and order in ESPN cause they have the Premiership rights for the 5pm matches on Saturday.

How does this happen? What can you do for this not to happen? Here’s my 10 tips for sticking to that New Year resolution and becoming the envy of begrudgers everywhere!  

1- Write it down in detail. This makes it real and gets it registered into your subconscious. Put it in your diary on page 1, write it on a notepad and stick it on the fridge. Make sure it is somewhere you go very regularly so you constantly remind yourself of it. This helps you staying motivated.

2- Believe you can do it. If your goal is realistic and you can visualise yourself achieving it, then you can do it. Make a clear mental picture of you achieving it. Seeing yourself succeed puts you in the right frame of mind.

3- Make a list of all the ways you will benefit from sticking to your New Year resolution. The more ways you can find, the more motivation you will receive from them.

4- Set a timeframe and write it beside the goal. The date by which you will have achieved what you set out to do. Again you are making it real both visibly and in your subconscious.

5- Think about all the difficulties you may encounter on your way to achieving your New Year resolution. These difficulties may come from inside you (such as willpower, lack of a certain skill etc…) or may come from external influences (such as uncooperative family members, time spent at work etc…). By identifying them you can already start looking at a way around these before they occur.

6- Check what information you lack right now to be able to start your journey to success and take steps to get this information ASAP.

7- Make a list of people you need help from; whether they are friends, relatives or professionals. By asking for their help, you validate them. Ask yourself what you can do for them so they will gladly help you.

8- Use all of the above information and make a detailed plan. Be precise, thorough and specific. Write down step by step how you will succeed. Brake down the resolution into manageable steps and plan them 1 by 1.

9- Celebrate every completion of one of the steps. Pat yourself on the back, give yourself a treat. Congratulate yourself. It keeps the motivation meter at 120%!!!

10- Never give up! You are always closer to achieving than you think you are. So NEVER give up. While change is always good, nobody said the transition period is a bed of roses. There will be thorns, admire them for what they are and move on!

I want to congratulate all of you in advance on bucking the trend and making 2010 the year where you turn those New Years resolutions into real achievements!! WELL DONE!!!

P.S.: remember there is always a friendly Life Coach nearby to help, motivate and support you. He/She is only a phone call or email away.

4ward 2 Success are delighted to announce that Patrick Mercie is delivering a series of open workshops designed specifically with enhancing your quality of life in mind! Patrick mentions that the idea behind these workshops “is for people to stop the blame game and start taking responsibility for their own future”.

The first of these interactive modules is a ‘Goal Setting’ workshop which will take place on Thursday the 3rd of December, from 1900 to 2100 PM, in the Mall Suite of the Absolute Hotel. For directions check http://www.absolutehotel.com/directions

What is unique about this workshop is that it is interactive and will yield individual results for ALL the participants. It will also give them something concrete to work towards for themselves afterwards.

The workshop consists of four integral parts:

1. Goal identification through value based exercises
2. Reality check using the SMART checking system
3. Golden tips for enhanced success on goal achievement
4. Design of your own action plan.

At the end of the workshop there will be an opportunity to meet and talk to Patrick.

Your investment in this workshop is €35.

Profile: Patrick graduated and qualified as a Personal & Business Coach with the Irish Lifecoach Institute (ILI) in 2007 and has this Diploma accredited by the Life & Business Coaching Association of Ireland (LBCAI). Patrick has been successfully coaching people from all walks of life towards taking responsibility of their future by acting on it today. Patrick’s style of working is interactive, motivational, energetic and above all positive minded. Patrick has been described by his clients as ‘infectious’ in positive thinking and attitude.

To book one of the limited places on this workshop fill in the form below and send with cheque for €35 to 4ward 2 Success, 35 Meadowbrook, Mill Road, Corbally, Limerick.

For more info on the workshop or 4ward 2 Success programs email Patrick on patrickmercie66@hotmail.com or call him on 083-3008963.

Book a Place on the ‘Goal Setting’ Workshop in Limerick on 03/12 from 1900 to 2100 for me please:

Name: …………………………………………………………………………………….

Address: …………………………………………………………………………………

Mobile: …………………………………………………………………………………..

Email: …………………………………………………………………………………….

Please enclose cheque for €35 and send to:

4ward 2 Success, 35 Meadowbrook, Mill Road, Corbally, Limerick. You will be contacted with confirmation of your place at this workshop.

I keep being amazed with the reactions I get from people when I suggest a few simple actions to declutter their life from negative influences. Just so I get you all going at me as well here’s a few suggestions: Stop watching the news, reading the papers and watching soaps and ‘reality’ TV. Are you still reading? Thanks J

I’m not asking you to take my word for it. Try it for a couple of days. There’s only one proviso. Do something you really like with the time it frees up. Whatever that is, as long as it is something you like and is ‘good’ for YOU!

I’ve tried it and am 95% successful at not doing the things listed (I’ve added a few other things that are personal and stopped doing them as well). I am as a result generally feeling happier, more energetic, prepared to do more for others, less judgmental and definitely less angry about things. It freed up ‘me’ time and it also allowed for me to share and collaborate with others to start creating hubs of creative thinking people for the benefit of everybody! I’m sorry if the rest of this article has a bit of a negative undertone, it is merely so for demonstrative purposes.

Where does the title come from I hear you ask? When we watch those programmes or follow current affairs we get dragged into the Blame Game or into Schadenfreude. The vast majority of politics or corporate culture works on the Blame Game and the carcasses of others. It is all about how much you have, what do you own and who have you conquered? Competition is the be all and end all and others need to be destroyed en route to success which is measured in possessions.

The TV news fails to break the mould. It predominantly brings ‘bad’ news. As if that is all that exists. As if there are no newsworthy good people or inspirational events. They do this for the reasons above. Keep you thinking in the Blame Game because that way you are not looking for answers or solutions to the bigger picture. And that suits the people in power fine as they are in control and shiver at the thought of confrontation with their destructive ways. They make you feel it is your fate to be who you are. Where did I hear that before??

Then there are the soaps and reality TV series. That’s where Schadenfreude comes to play. Schadenfreude comes from the German words Schaden or harm and Freude or joy. According to Collins dictionary it means ‘one person’s delight in another’s misfortune’. By seeing others suffer, row, fight and behave badly or live in misery we comfort ourselves to believe that our Fate is not that bad after all. So why question it??

In the mean time our planet’s health is in jeopardy, people are at war in several parts of the world, fanatics are trying to use religions to justify destruction, our health care is in tatters, our kids sit in overcrowded schools, there is severe poverty and malnutrition and so on and so on.

It is high time to start thinking differently. It is 23.55 and the clock is ticking. It is time to stop the ‘them and us’ way of life. We can all do more than we know. We can all change the world. Each one of us can. It is time to start thinking big (thanks to Michael Port for the idea – check ThinkBigRevolution.com and join us in the thinking big revolution)!!

As Michael said in his fantastic book (The Think Big Manifesto), thinking big is not about accumulation of possessions, fame, friends, or influence. Though you may get financial rewards it is not about getting rich. It is about collaboration and cooperation instead of competition. And it starts with us, one person at a time. It is about sharing what we are best at and enriching each other. Whatever that may be. We all have something wonderful to contribute to the world. We just have to know we do first. You can, I can, we all can!! Make that choice today and forevermore. Join us in the revolution on the website or via the book or by giving me a shout.

Switch off that TV and switch on your brain!!! I promise you in return increased happiness, self belief, self esteem; improved relationships and more energy. Can you afford to let that offer slip by????

Have a great day and talk soon

Patrick