Personal Growth Archives - Succeed Sooner

Personal Goals – My 2020 Strategy

January 14, 2020January 14, 2020 by Tim Empringham, MBANo Comments

The new year is upon us and for those that know me or have read some of my year end posts over the years you know I like to use this time to set some personal goals. I am not a believer in New Years Resolutions, but I do think it is a great time of year to reflect and plan for the year to come. (more…)...

Podcasts for Constant Learning

June 20, 2017June 30, 2017 by Tim Empringham, MBANo Comments

I am a strong believer in ongoing learning as a mandatory activity for anyone who is looking to progress in their life either personally or professionally. I am continually looking for new options for reading and learning everywhere I go and I try to bring a curious attitude to each new experience. I am always looking for opportunities to learn as much as possible about different ideas, viewpoints, and thinking approaches. Recently I started spending more time in the car rather than commuting by train where I was able to get a lot of reading done and so I was looking for alternative ways to consume new content. I have used audio books in the past which were interesting, but while I was searching for audio alternatives for the car I came across the idea of Podcasts. (more…)...

Life Begins at the End of your Comfort Zone

November 29, 2016July 11, 2017 by Tim Empringham, MBANo Comments

Life begins at the end of your comfort zone. Neale Donald Walsch Your comfort zone is the behavioural space where your patterns and routines minimize your stress and risk with a situation. It provides you with mental security and provides you with the obvious benefits of basic happiness, reduced anxiety, and lower stress. It is also one of the most important challenges to your success and enjoyment of life. If you stay in your comfort zone you may be less stressed, but you will also be learning less, experiencing less, learning less, and growing less. The idea of "stepping out of your comfort zone" isn't just a great sound bite or quote. It actually stems from the research of Robert M Yerkes and John D Dodson in 1908 where they found that to maximize performance they needed to create a state of "relative anxiety" that they called "Optimal Anxiety". This doesn't mean putting someone into a completely uncomfortable position. It does mean extending...

The Millennial Challenge

November 1, 2016July 24, 2017 by Tim Empringham, MBANo Comments

Last week I was at the Niagara Economic Summit where they tackled some issues related to employment in the Niagara Region including a power talk on the topic of millennials. The millennial discussion was led by a panel of millennial speakers including Chris Sinclair, Julie Rorison, Allie Hughes, Alyssa Lai, Stephanie Harper, and Stephen Murdoch. In the discussion, the panellists spoke about the way Millennials differ from previous generations. I call this the Millennial Challenge. Gen Y differs in their work styles and their experiences and perceptions of employees and employers. The panellists also shared some strategies for other millennials to get themselves started in the work force. I have recently been doing some work supporting the start-up of a non-profit focused on helping millennials make the leap from student to productive professional. I found the discussion at the Summit fascinating given some research I've been doing in that work. It is one thing to read professional research and perspectives on...

What Have You Done For Me Lately?

October 26, 2016 by Tim Empringham, MBANo Comments

I was speaking with someone recently who had recently been downsized from a company that they had been with for over 15 years. Over that 15 years they had moved up the corporate ladder and were regarded as a rising star in the organization early in their career. Over the past couple of years however their political "stock" had started to fall as the organization had shifted their focus and direction slightly and there had been some turnover in the senior management team. Ultimately this individual had been part of a broad set of job reductions that the company had taken to improve productivity. They were lamenting the fact that they had given 15 years of their life and hard work to an organization that didn't appreciate that legacy and they were feeling very "hard done by" by the whole situation. Having recently gone through a similar experience myself it gave me a great opportunity to reflect on what was different...

Who Are You?

September 11, 2014July 6, 2016 by Tim Empringham, MBANo Comments

I've been thinking a lot lately about how I define myself as a person. What parts of my life define who I am and if I'm asked what would I consider the most important things to communicate about who I am? What I've found is that by taking a good long look at all of the components of my life I have been able to create a better framework for how I face daily challenges and big decisions. (more…)...

Unleashing Authenticity

March 10, 2014July 6, 2016 by Tim Empringham, MBANo Comments

I watched an incredible TED Talk this morning from Caroline Casey that had an extraordinary effect on me. I'm fairly sure I got a few looks on the GO Train as I alternated between wiping tears from my eyes to chuckling out loud, but the message struck a core nerve for me. I won't spoil the talk, but Caroline makes a stunning admission to open the story and then discusses how her life and parents taught her the power of believing in looking past and defeating limits that might be placed in our way. (more…)...

Keep Your Head In The Game

August 2, 2013July 6, 2016 by Tim Empringham, MBANo Comments

I've taken a bit of a hiatus from writing over the past couple months because I felt I really needed to refocus myself a little bit and give myself the time and space to step up from the weeds of life and career and get some perspective on how I want to frame my future. I found myself not feeling like I was progressing myself internally in a meaningful way, and I was reminded of one of my favourite quotes: It’s only when you drop yesterday’s assumptions that you can glimpse tomorrow’s patterns and possibilities. To see deeper, unsee first. – Umair Haq (more…)...