Deanna Doss Shrodes

I ponder the subject of success all the time. Probably too much. I'm intrigued by it. Curious about what works and what doesn't. After a lot of observation, I've concluded that initiative is one of the most important ingredients to success. In my book, JUGGLE , I talk about the importance of having an initiative list. I believe successful people are not only clear on their initiatives, they take initiative to get them done. They don't wait around for other people. I've been coaching for a while and it's interesting to me that when I formulate agreements with clients, they will agree to pretty much anything but then look to me for what I'm going to do next.  It's never about what the coach is going to do next. It's about what you're going to do once you and the coach have agreed upon  plan. People that keep waiting for the coach fail. People who take initiative succeed. Initiative is really, really important.

A few weeks ago we got new neighbors across the street.  Mike and Amy bought the house where the previous neighbors (wonderful people) kept their lawn "just so" with every blade of grass right in it's place. Joe, the previous owner, was so picky about the yard he didn't even allow his wife to help him do anything. So there he was, out there all the time working in that yard. He was retired, and had the time. His yard was the envy of the neighborhood. Joe would often encourage me in my little attempts to do something with our yard. They really were little. I'd weed for a while, mostly in the dark, after I got home from work. I'd do just enough to keep the home owners association off our backs. Joe would come out to take his trash out at night and see me there. He'd remark about different things I could do to improve our grass or our beds.  I'm sure he might have commented to his wife in private, "You know honey, I really wish the Shrodes wou...

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. The photo above was worth about five thousand for me last night. Yesterday morning my friend Torski Dobson-Arnold posted this photo on her Facebook wall and I told her it really spoke to me in a powerful way. I was stalling. Yes, it was Monday. But no excuse, I was still stalling. I've been working on a few big writing projects.  As much as I love to write, I had come to an impasse about a major chunk of one of the projects that desperately needed to get done. I put it off because there are still some unanswered questions regarding one section. It would have been so much more appealing last night to just lay in bed and watch "bad TV" as my friend Kathryn calls it (for me this would include anything on Lifetime or my shows I tape from TLC)...not that everything on there is in bad taste of bad for you, mind you. Torski's picture spurred me to make a move NOW. So last night I wrote about 5,000 words and made...

Ever get messages that make you want to reach through your computer and choke someone? For me, this would include occasions where people e-mail me in the morning and by afternoon are sending another e-mail asking why I haven't responded yet. It happens to me all the time, no exaggeration. No one has done it to me today probably because everyone knows I just got back from vacation and am plowing through mail and an assortment of other things. Last week while I was away my friend Melissa Kelly graciously stepped up to handle my blog and Facebook for me. I know you may wonder, "why do you need someone to handle your facebook? Has facebook become so important you need someone to manage it while you are on vacation?" The fact is that blog traffic is very dependent upon facebook updates and I wanted my guest bloggers last week to get the most traffic possible. These ladies had something really important to say and I wanted everyone to be aware of it. So I asked Melissa to ...

Today's post is a guest post by my good friend, Lisa Alexander . One of the reasons I am such a kindred spirit with Lisa is that like me she wears a lot of hats. We understand each other's worlds very well. Lisa is a wife, mom, minister, student, business owner, marketing guru (she wouldn't call herself that, but I'm just speaking truth) and lots more. She creates the WOW factor for her clients and does it like no other. If you need help with web launches, advertising campaigns, social media marketing, book launches and the like, she's your gal! We first met many years ago online but our relationship has transcended to an in person one as well. I've had the privilege of being in her home and meeting her family. She's the real deal, ya'll! Here's what's on her heart to share with us today about half hour lunches and so much more... I am a wife. I am a mom. I am a minister. I am a student. I am a business owner. I am also a few me’s shor...

I'm not going to keep you in suspense. I'm going to tell you right off the bat in this post exactly how to do as the title suggests. You need to sleep. After watching this TED talk by Arianna Huffington right before the new year started, I determined to do three new things in 2012 to reach my goals. I'm getting  adequate sleep, I'm taking my weekly sacred day off no matter what and I'm planning vacations well in advance. It's another blog for another day but by "vacation" I mean true vacations. This doesn't include times of handling business, visiting people, covering bases, but a true getaway where I have no expectations or responsibilities whatsoever. A lot of people ask me how I do all that I do, handling multiple jobs and roles. I've been thinking about more intentional answers to this question instead of just saying, "a lot of prayer," or "God's grace." Yes of course I do it with a lot of prayer and without g...

“If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain; If I can ease one life the aching, or cool one pain, or help one fainting robin up to his nest again, I shall not live in vain.” ~ Emily Dickinson  If I don't take time each day to help somebody, what's the use of this day? I live my life to worship God. And I've learned that as one gets in the presence of God, He stirs a heart to serve, to be broken and poured out on behalf of others. Taking time to help, to serve is not a burden. It is the great blessing imaginable. Stopping to help others gives life meaning.   Some people who teach on time management share how to isolate yourself from people so you can get everything done.  One thing I love doing is sharing with others how they can get things done so they can spend more time helping people. Because really... what could be more amazing than helping people? Think about it. Jesus came to earth to help people.

Do you feel overwhelmed with what's on your plate? Are you depressed when you see things around you piling up? Here, look at this person's kitchen: Now...don't you feel better? LOL I've been at the place where I want to run away. At times my responsibilities feel so enormous I fantasize about crazy things. Don't worry, I'm not thinking of murder or abandoning my family or stuff like that.  Normally I dream of things like spontaneously taking off for a vacation with no prior planning, or living in a house so far in the woods, no one wants to come there.  Yes my friends, these are my wild fantasies. When my imagination runs wild, most times it runs to a little cottage in the forest with a pointy roof.  Something like this... As you can see, fancy is not the goal of this escape. True story -- my daughter has a friend she goes to school with who lives so far in the woods I can't go there without getting horribly lost every time. I even get lost w...

I asked myself this question this morning when I saw this on a friend's facebook page. And I immediately shifted gears , put everything else aside and pursued the greatest dream of my heart. How does it feel? Wonderful. This post by Seth really affected me this week too. I acted upon my dreams this morning and moved forward in creating a different outcome. What can you change for a different outcome?

Where is your creative space to work on your art? I have logistical space.  My issue is space of time. Others have all the time in the world but no physical space or resources to work on their art.  Either way moving forward requires change to create. Do you need physical space?  Rearrange a room at home. Give up something else in order to prioritize your art. A friend of mine gave up a closet and made it an office. She had to figure out somewhere else to put her clothes but she had a place to work on her art. Do you need space of time to do your art? Do the painful work of examining your agenda. I understand this dilemma.  Currently I'm working several jobs, one of which was supposed to be something I was covering temporarily but has turned out to last longer than I would have ever imagined.  We're coming up on several years now, not months. If you had told me this back then I'd have either told you that you were crazy, ran away, or gone to my docto...

I remember many years ago when I was just coming into adulthood lamenting about some things  I had to do, somebody quipped to me, "Deanna, all you HAVE to do is live, die and pay taxes." I know it might seem odd, but I'm a very analytical person who really started thinking about that statement. What does a person have to do, really have to do, in life? I don't have the full answer to this question yet but one thing I do know for sure, we all do some things we don't have to do. I believe we still do them for a myriad of reasons and one is because we are afraid of the new. New represents change. And change is something that scares many of us. The interesting thing about change is that it has the possibility to make a way for us where there seemed to be no way. Change can bring healing, wholeness, a new lease on life. But it often requires a very deep examination of what we have been doing versus what we might want to think about doing. In my experienc...

Irene Porto, Founder and President at Career Integrity Recruitment and Coaching published the following on her Facebook status yesterday: How to set goals for 2012~  Step 1: Take stock of what went well and what didn't go well in 2011. What successes did you have in 2011? Why do you think you succeeded? What didn't you accomplish in 2011? Honesty will get you closer to putting these goals back on the list for 2012. Don't give up, recommit. Why do you think you fell short? What did you learn from the experience and how can you do better in 2012? I'm sure she'll share more as the week unfolds, but this first post gave me a lot to think about. Actually I was already considering what my goals for the year are going to be. There are years I have dispensed with "New Year's Resolutions" altogether, believing they are mainly unrealistic goals people aspire to that never quite get off the ground. They sort of limp year to year with the same old goals that ...

People who are most effective in life have in common that they get things done regardless of what comes up.  Dependability is one of the most important soft skills a person can possess. Right now you may not feel like you're at your optimal best with hustle and bustle and holiday stress. I know the feeling. The other night it was all I could do to get through a rehearsal, I was so physically and emotionally exhausted from the extra holiday load.  Then a few days ago a cold sore showed up on my lip -- always one of the telltale signs that I'm stressed. But I know that my success depends on me pushing through the more challenging days and doing what needs to be done in spite of the way I may feel. Your success depends on that too. Here are five things that help me to press on when I feel like stopping or procrastinating: 1) Start the day with a bit more self care For me this means extra time to get ready in the morning.  I like to start my day quietly with just ...

"How do you do it all?"  This is a question I'm often asked, and I 've written about it here on the blog before. Today I thought I'd share five points to quick start your productivity. 1)  Give yourself deadlines for things. I'm on more deadlines imposed by myself than by others.  I keep them unless prohibited by waiting on others for things I can't control. 2)  Tell people about your deadlines. I share with my close friends about my deadlines.  They ask me about some of them and it keeps me on track.  Nothin' like a little accountability! 3)  Make an initiative list every week. My list is done by Thursdays for the following week.  The list includes everything I have to do for the entire week.  I find great joy in checking off things when they are done.  I keep mine on my Outlook but you can do this on paper or the computer or however is best for you. 4)  Divide your initiatives by the number of days you're going to...