I am blessed. My career is making a living doing what I love. I get to achieve my purpose, my mission: “To assist people to realize and achieve their full human potential.”
I have a positive outlook; it is an integral part of a vibrant and beautiful life. To have a positive outlook, you must give people the benefit of the doubt-they are doing the best they can to have a beautiful life for themselves. With a positive outlook, I teach people to create “skillful communications.” When you create skillful communication, you answer the needs of your listener. It’s not about you. To find your purpose in communication, you must ask yourself, “At the end of my communication, what do I want my listener to do, think, or feel?” For example, research shows women use about 25,000 words a day; men use about 15,000. You don’t want your male listener glazing over. So instead of using a lot of words: “Yes, I think that’s a great idea; let’s do that; it sounds as if it would work; we should get started right away,” just say, “Sure,” and let it go at that. His reaction? A surprised smile.
As a motivational speaker, I use my skills to inspire and show people how to appreciate the goodness in their own lives. People inspire me. When I started out as a motivational speaker, after 10 years in Human Resources, it was all about MY standing ovation from the audience. They would come up to me after and want to be me: “Oh, your life must be so wonderful; I would love to work for you.” After the first couple of years came the switch: “Wow-you described me and my husband-wish I would have heard you 30 years ago.” Now, the ultimate inspiration for me is it’s all about THEM, NOT ME. They come up and say, “I have a story for your speech.” And they do. Or even better, when I am speaking, they spontaneously break out in conversation with the person they are sitting next to: “Oh, you are just like that. Ooh, she’s describing what happened to me yesterday!” They are recognizing themselves in what I say, and that is the proof I am connecting, and that is my ultimate reward.
Guest Writer – Mimi Donaldson
For over twenty years, Mimi has captivated audiences sharing the keynote
platform with celebrities.
She holds a B.A. in Communication from the University of Iowa, and a Masters in Education from Columbia University. For 10 years, she was a Human Resources Specialist with Walt Disney Company, Northrop Aircraft, and
Rockwell International.
Mimi Donaldson is co-author of Negotiating for Dummies, published in six languages and sold almost 2 million copies.
Her second book was Bless Your Stress: It Means You’re Still Alive!
Mimi’s latest book is about success and football: Necessary Roughness: New Rules for the Contact Sport of Life.