The Blue Zebra: Success Your Way                      Issue No. 3 Dear ,  As the butcher said when he backed into the meat slicing machin e, "I got a little behind in my work."  So, better late than never, here is Issue 3 of the "Blue Zebra".  Make sure you scroll down to read about the teleclass that a colleague and I are offering: "Avoiding burnout in the nonprofit workplace." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Article: Coping with the "crisis"  By now you have probably read a number of articles that talk about how to cope with our current financial "situation".  At the risk of being redundant, I want to outline a few points that you might find helpful in keeping sane in this challenging time. 1.  Don't panic or worry - Getting yourself emotionally worked up is not going to help you.  In fact, it will hurt you, anything from making it difficult to sleep to paralyzing you and keeping you from taking action.  When you find yourself in that state, do something to shift yourself out of it (see #3 for some suggestions). 2.  Take action - It's easy in a time as overwhelming as this to feel helpless.  The way to counteract that is to take action.  Talk to your financial planner; talk to your spouse or partner and make a plan; follow through on the steps in your plan. 3.  Accentuate the positive - It is so easy to fall into negative thinking when we are under a lot of stress.  But all that is going to do is cause you to worry, to feel helpless, and to make life miserable for the people around you.  Here are some ways to stay positive: a.  Focus on what's most important in your life - For most of us, money is just a means to allow us to live a fulfilling life, so put your attention on the things that bring you pleasure and meaning: your family, your friends, your creative pursuits, your service. b.  Lighten up - With so much bad news, it's easy to feel heavy, helpless and hopeless.  So find fun things to do that will take your mind off of...........: have a game night with your family or friends, take a hike in the woods, watch your favorite funny movie. c.  Take a news break - Hearing all the negative news day after day, several times a day, can make it hard to stay positive.  So give yourself a break: stop listening to or reading the news for a while.  The world will get along fine if you don't know exactly what is going on.  Ask someone to tell you about anything that you need to know. d.  Find ways to give back - I am sure that you have experienced the good feeling of being of service to someone less fortunate than yourself.  If you are already involved in good works, make sure that you keep it up.  If you are not, then find a way to give back to the community. e.  Count your blessings - I know it's become a clicheé, but cultivate an "attitude of gratitude."  It works.  Spend a few minutes every day being grateful for all the good things in your life.  You might be surprised at how well this works to give you a positive outlook. f.  Take care of yourself - When we are under stress, taking good care of ourselves is often the first thing to go.  So, keep up your exercise routine (even if you have to switch to a less expensive form of exercise), continue to eat well (fast food meals may seem like a cheap alternative but too many can be deadly - literally).  And if you are not currently doing these, then see if you can make a start. g.  Get professional help if necessary - If you are finding yourself unusually anxious or depressed to a level that is preventing you from acting in your life, see a mental health professional.  Be open to their suggestions, whether it be for a course of therapy or medication.  These can be very helpful in getting you over this hump. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Teleclass:  Avoiding burnout in the nonprofit workplace Monique Morimoto Flaherty and I are offering a free one-hour teleconference called "Avoiding burnout in the nonprofit workplace" for nonprofit Directors and other executives.  This is a major issue for all nonprofits, so this should be a lively and useful conversation.  We will be facilitating the conversation and make sure that you leave the call with more options than when you started.  So, please sign up or pass this information along to anyone you know who is the Director of a nonprofit. Avoiding burnout in the nonprofit workplace: A teleconference for nonprofit Directors Do you have employees who: Complain that work is not fun anymore. Overreact to minor hassles Report being overwhelmed Complain of minor health aliments? If so, your organization may be suffering from burnt out. Other signs of burnout include employees who: No longer laugh or have fun at work. Are irritable toward coworkers/customers. See work as a chore. Frequently worry. Feel lethargic and/or empty in their work. Employee turnover in nonprofits range from 30-60% in a typical year.  Burnout is a major contributing factor to nonprofit employees leaving their jobs.  Some facts: 1.      More than 45 percent of young, nonprofit professionals surveyed recently predicted their next job would not be at a charity (due to) burnout and low pay.  2.      81 percent of the human services workers interviewed for this study strongly or somewhat agreed that it is easy to burn out in the work they do. 3.      The costs for an organization to replace an employee who quits range from 50% to 150% of an existing employee's salary. What can you as a leader of a non-profit do? Join with other nonprofit Directors on Wednesday, November 12, at 4:30, for an hour-long, lively, informative discussion about strategies - organizational and individual - that can greatly reduce the strain on your employees.  Less stress results in lower turnover and higher productivity.  Coaches Monique Morimoto Flaherty and Ted Behr will facilitate the conversation and make sure that you leave the call with more options than when you started.  There is no charge for this program. Send me an email (Coachted@Uncommonsuccessco.com), and I will email the # once you confirm your attendance. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My services As The Uncommon Success Coach, I help people design and create successful lives based on their own definitions of success.  I help people who feel stuck in their jobs get unstuck, and find work that fits. I help people who have been searching for the right career for some time find their perfect fit. I work with people who are at their wits end in trying to bring their life into some semblance of balance.  If you fit into one of these categories, contact me to talk about how coaching can help you achieve your goals more quickly and more easily.  You can call me at 617-522-6099 or email me at Coachted@Uncommonsuccessco.com. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I hope you enjoyed this third issue.  If you this newsletter was forwarded to you by a friend, you can subscribe. Go to my Web site http://www.uncommonsuccessco.com/ and fill out the form on the Home page.  As a bonus, you will receive my article, "How to Live a Balanced Life: Learning to Say NO."  I invite you to look around while you're there. Click here is you would like to read Issue #1 or Issue #2. Got Friends? ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Have any friends who want to be more successful? Please forward this newsletter to them. Reprint Permission ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Reprint permission granted in part or whole when the following credit appears in full: Reprinted with permission from The Uncommon Success Co. 617-522-6099 http://www.uncommonsuccessco.com/       Coachted@uncommonsuccessco.com                                                                               (C) The Uncommon Success Co.