Many people believe that their thoughts are more than just bits of information that run through their head all day long. In fact, science can now prove this idea. Each of us has thousands of thoughts in a single day. 

Thoughts are things, they are very powerful, and they can help you to create the life you want. The idea is that the more you dwell on positive ideas, feelings and thoughts, the more of them you will bring into your life. 

What can positive thinking do for you? 

With positive thinking, you can create more success in your life, and you can turn failure into something of value. 

Positive thinking can improve your health, your relationships, your business and your career. It can apply to every area of your life. 

The thoughts you have determine how you feel, which then determines the actions you take. This mind-body connection is not only an important component to your wellbeing, it’s important to your success. 

Why you don’t always think positively

You all have limits. You have limiting beliefs as well, especially when it comes to the amount of success you think you are capable of and that translates into the amount of money you make. You limit yourself, often without even knowing it. 

It’s your inner voice that implements these limits, as well as critical self-talk. Your fear, low self-esteem or training you received creates these imaginary limits. Perhaps it was the teacher who said you wouldn’t amount to anything, or the pressure other adults put on you. 

How to train yourself to think positively

There are things you can do to keep your thoughts positive, and to keep those powerful things working for you. 

Here are six ways to keep your thoughts positive:

1. Focus on possibilities. There is often more than one way to do something, in every situation. Sometimes it takes effort to find alternatives and so it is easy to fall back into old patterns. There are endless possibilities available to you at any given time.

>> RELATED: Building a positive company culture

2. Focus on what you have accomplished. All too often you tend to focus on the parts of your to-do list that you did not get done. This can be very overwhelming and unmotivating because you think you spend so much time working and getting nowhere. It’s usually not true. By looking at what you have accomplished, you can change your outlook and your productivity. 

3. Write down your goals as if you have already reached them. Next time you write down a goal, do it in the present tense. If you write it as though you’ve just reached it, you can experience the joy of having done so. I know this might sound backwards to some of you, but it is a more powerful approach, not only in your thoughts but also in the actions you take. 

4. Have high expectations for yourself and others. When it comes to family and relationships, positive thinking can be powerful. High expectations can foster confidence and the motivation to try, to excel and then to achieve beyond the limits you set for yourself.  

5. Use affirmations. Use uplifting and encouraging statements to shift your negative thought patterns back on track. You might have that one negative comment or story that plays over and over in your mind. It comes at the most inopportune time and sticks around. Using affirmations is one way to kick it out. 

6. Take a step back to get a new perspective. Can you stop and take a look at the situation? Try to see it from another perspective – in a different way. You can even try running it by a trusted friend or coach. Oftentimes the problem is in how you are seeing the situation or the belief you hold around it, that you cannot see. Someone to provide a new insight is often the key. 

>> RELATED: What a coach can do for you

Finding yourself thinking negatively from time to time is normal – and it can sometimes be hard to spot yourself and recover. These six tips can help you build up your positive thinking skills and have a big impact on your future. 

Maureen Consdine Gharrity is the founder and CEO of Finding Your Way Coaching. She is the Wealth Health Creation Strategist for entrepreneurs, executives, doctors and other high performers. She has over 25 years’ experience in sales and marketing and has worked with hundreds of entrepreneurs and executives in their careers and businesses. She has a B.A in Psychology, with training in mindset and the Psychology of Sales. You can reach her at: maureen@maureengharrity.com and https://www.maureengharrity.com.

Going pro bono is a win-win. An organization gains your expertise and talent at zero cost, and you gain more experience and positive exposure—not to mention a good feeling. Here’s how to go about it.

Here’s a simple but very effective strategy to maximize the impact of a ‘No Budget Marketing’ campaign you may create for your employer or your own business—harnessing the ‘Power of the Pro Bono’ or Strategic Volunteering.

Why volunteer at all?

Whether you’re marketing the products or services of your employer or your own business or just simply enhancing your image and value to the people you work for and with, the Power of the Pro Bono can be a simple, quick and no-cost self-marketing strategy. Effectively done, it can help accomplish several important goals for you, including:

•          Creating positive exposure for yourself as a caring and giving professional or a very positive reflection on your employer;

•          producing positive name recognition and credibility;

•          creating tools that can showcase your skills if you produce a newsletter, brochure, video or event. You can even win awards for your work;

•          helping you learn new skills or enhance existing skills in leadership, project management, social media, accounting, e-marketing, writing or presenting;

•          making you feel very good about yourself by doing the right thing and helping out a worthy professional, civic or charitable group; and

•          stroking your creative ego and professional self-esteem by being involved with something worthwhile, creative and fun.

How do you get started?

As they say, getting started is the hardest part. We’re helping you ease in by giving you the following five steps to beginning your pro bono journey.

Going Pro Bono Step No. 1: Clearly define your or your business’s value proposition. What do you do well that adds value to customers who will pay you for it at a profit?

Going Pro Bono Step No. 2: Determine those professional, civic or charitable groups where lots of your customers and prospects are actively involved. 

Going Pro Bono Step No. 3: Search for linkages between that group’s needs for support, other than money or pure volunteer time, that relate to your value proposition. For a web design firm, that could be a website makeover. For a writer, it could be help with their brochure. For an accountant, it could be serving as a volunteer auditor.

Going Pro Bono Step No. 4: Reach out to each group and offer your services. It really helps if you’ve been an active member for several years rather than a stranger—yet another great reason to get involved with your profession or community.

Going Pro Bono Step No. 5: When your task is completed, ask for a ‘subtle’ acknowledgement: ‘Website designed by x’ at the bottom of the home page, ‘Brochure content and design courtesy of y’ on the back page of a brochure or a glowing letter of thanks from the group leader with reference in their routine member communication.

Where do you volunteer?

There are lots of effective platforms for strategic volunteer activity. Be creative and think outside of the usual box with the following ideas:

•          Start with your own industry and the professional associations that support it. Those groups can probably use the help and you can benefit from all the good will you will gain from the experience.

•          Other professional, business or civic groups you may belong to or where you’d benefit from the exposure. Start with COSE and your local Chamber. 

•          A charity or non-profit that has personal importance to your family, your boss, your boss’s spouse, the big boss, the big boss’s spouse, or an important customer.

What volunteer activities should you consider?

Strategic volunteer activities are “win-win.” The organization benefits from what you contribute, but you also benefit from what you learn or gain. What special skills or talents can you contribute and showcase beyond simply giving of your time? What skills do you want to learn or enhance? What will give you the kind of exposure you need and want?

If you want to enhance or showcase ...

Leadership or management skills: Manage an event or fundraiser, chair a committee or task force, hold an office or sit on a board

Writing skills: Edit the group’s newsletter, write articles for it, PR releases, promotional pieces or blog posts

Creative media skills: Coordinate the advertising or PR for the group a major event. Write or produce a video or media tool that helps them recruit members, raise money or train volunteers.

Graphic design skills: Design or improve their logo, letterhead, brochure or newsletter layout

Web design skills: Design or improve their website

Social media skills: Create blogs, their presence on leading social media sites, regularly post content.

Presentation skills: Deliver a presentation, emcee an event or serve on their speakers’ bureau or improve their PowerPoint presentations

Training or facilitation skills: Teach or facilitate classes or workshops for members or leaders

Financial skills: Serve as treasurer or audit their books

As you’ve seen, Strategic Volunteering through the Power of the Pro Bono involves simple, quick, no-cost and personally rewarding strategies to promote your image or the image of your employer. The organization wins because you give of your talent, not just your time or treasure. You win because you earn ‘Psychic Income,’ gain positive exposure and learn or enhance career-related skills.

So, begin volunteering strategically and see how it can add value to your ‘No Budget Marketing’ Tool Kits. It has worked well for me for over 25 years.

Phil Stella runs Effective Training & Communication, www.communicate-confidently.com, 440 449-0356, and empowers business leaders to reduce the pain with workplace communication. A popular trainer and executive coach on writing, styles and sales presentations, he is also on the Cleveland faculty of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program. 

Northeast Ohio’s only conference for small- and middle-market companies—BizConCLE 2018—is coming up fast on Nov. 1.

Here are the top five reasons why you need to register for this event today.

1. Convenient Location

This year’s BizConCLE is happening right in your own backyard at the I-X Center. Not only is this an easy location to get to, but the cost of parking is included in your registration.

2. Powerful Keynotes

Not one. Not two. Not three. But FOUR nationally known keynotes will be taking the stage and imparting their unique business insights during this year’s convention. Click here for a rundown of the four leadership lessons that the keynotes at BizConCLE 2017 shared with attendees.

3. Strength in Numbers

Speaking of attendees, BizConCLE draws hundreds of attendees every year, meaning you’ll have the chance to network and connect with like-minded entrepreneurs and executives as well as take advantage of a full exhibit hall and interactive show floor.

Darlene Campagna, the president and CEO of Direct Opinions and a multiyear attendee of BizConCLE, said she appreciates the opportunity to learn from others at the convention.

“I like the structure and pace of the event now which provides for opportunities to learn from experts and peers,” she said. “I have made great connections along the way and have established several key partnerships as a result of attending this event that I wouldn’t have found otherwise. I enjoy participating every year!”

4. Resources to Help Your Business Grow

From getting an intro to online marketing taught by actual Google employees to learning how to retain and develop your staff, BizConCLE 2018 features 10 educational workshops related to the challenges facing your business.

Marvin Montgomery, another longtime attendee of BizConCLE and committee chair for the convention, said the educational sessions have been particularly helpful for him and his business.

“I have been attending every year since I started my business in 1990,” he said. “You can network with other business professionals and share best practices. You can hear from relevant keynote speakers and attend workshops that will provide educational value to you and your business and you have a prime opportunity for Business Development in a non-threatening environment.

5. The Price Is Right

All of this is available to COSE/Greater Cleveland Partnership members for a special rate of just $59, which includes breakfast, lunch and an epic closing night party to wrap up the big day. Nonmembers are also welcome to attend. Contact Chad Hamman at 216-592-2329 or via email at chamman@gcpartnership.com to secure your ticket.

Don’t wait! Secure your place at BizConCLE 2018 and join hundreds of other Northeast Ohio business professionals for a full day of learning and networking. Click here to register now! And check out the video below for even more reasons why this is one convention your business must attend!

Finding success as an entrepreneur doesn’t happen by accident. The people running these start ups and small businesses all share the same skillset that allows them to have the vision to take their business to the next level.

During a breakout session at a Recent Greater Cleveland Partnership educational event titled “The Essential Habits of Entrepreneurs: How to Adopt the Skillsets and Mindsets of Today’s Most Successful Small Business Leaders,” Lori Long, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Management and Entrepreneurship and a professor of management at Baldwin Wallace University, and Linda G. Kanner, adjunct professor in the School of Business and Entrepreneur in Residence at Baldwin Wallace, shared the five skills that entrepreneurs have in common that allow them to be successful.

Not a small business owner? No problem! Long and Kanner stressed that the following five skills are just as important for use by teams at middle market and larger companies as well.

• RELATED: Four ways to be a winning entrepreneur.

Skill No. 1: A willingness to experiment

As an entrepreneur, you have to come to grips with the fact that failure will happen—frequently. So, you tried something one way and it didn’t work? Try it a different way next time. Put a process in place that recognizes and rewards all ideas (not just the ones that get implemented), gather feedback and go forward with the prototype.

Skill No. 2: Learn how to observe

A big part of being an entrepreneur is generating ideas that you can possibly put into action. One way of sparking these ideas is by observing and taking note of everything around you. And this leads to the next critical skill…

Skill No. 3: Connect the dots

Understanding the shared relationships between two otherwise disparate ideas or things is an excellent way of generating new ideas. Maintain open communication and foster a supportive work environment among members of your team to help shed light on these connections.

Skill No. 4: Question everything

Once you have a prototype or new process in place, it’s important to measure and understand what your customers think of it. So, ask them! Go out and talk to customers frequently. Ask them questions about what they think of what your company is doing.

Skill No. 5: Network your way to success

You’re not going to become a success on your own. The relationships you form with other business people and organizations will help propel your own company forward. So, go out and identify events where you will have an opportunity to network with others, find out what they can offer you and what you can provide to them as well.

• RELATED: Five signs of a networking slug—and what to do instead.

Each year, COSE and the Greater Cleveland Partnership host a number of events to help give businesses the education and resources needed to succeed. Click here for a list of upcoming events that can help your company grow, too.

Throughout 2019, we will be running a series of articles recapping BizConCLE 2018 and the lessons attendees learned at the show. Today’s article focuses on the keynote address delivered by Boxed’s Chieh Huang on how to effectively retain employees. Check out January's BizConCLE article by clicking here.

Boxed started in 2013 as a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants operation in a garage and has turned into a major wholesale ecommerce disruptor that has raised $180 million in funding.

During his keynote address at BizConCLE 2018, Boxed’s CEO and co-founder Chieh Huang laid out his blueprint for rapid growth and how the company goes about retaining talent.

Your people are the difference

Huang told the crowd gathered at the I-X Center that customers today aren’t just shopping based on price; but rather, a combination of price, convenience and brand name familiarity. Companies that can offer all three of those things tend to stand out from the rest of the pack. And the best way to create a standout impression in the minds of your customers begins with the people you hire.

Huang listed three things Boxed, known for generous perks such as paying for employee’s weddings, has done that small businesses could replicate in order to establish a strong company culture and differentiate from the competition.

Tip No. 1: Don’t micromanage

No one has ever said, “We never would have closed that deal if we hadn’t used the Times New Roman font,” Huang joked. His point? Don’t micromanage. Your employees who feel the most tired everyday are those who are being micromanaged.

It’s a natural tendency for business leaders to want to be hands-on, he said. After all, the further you grow your business, the more people you must hire. And the more people you must hire, the further you get removed from the daily goings on at the company and want to get back to having a say in the direction things are moving.

Resist that urge, Huang implored. Your people are staying with you not just because of the amount of money you’re paying them, but because there’s something they like about your management style. The easiest way to destroy that relationship is to begin micromanaging.

Tip No. 2: Install innovative employee retention strategies

Again, employee retention isn’t all about the size of the paycheck you’re giving your employees. There are other things small businesses can do, particularly as it relates to your policy on leave, to encourage longer retention rates.

At Boxed, for example, the company offers unlimited maternity and paternity leave. No one yet has taken gross abuse of the policy—the longest someone took off was 10 months and the shortest was four weeks. While small businesses might not be able to offer that strong of a perk, there are other little things businesses can do to keep employees happy. For instance, let your employees take off a little early to spend time with family or volunteer at their child’s school. Small touches like that can go a long way, he said.

Tip No. 3: Nail the hiring process

The best way to ensure your company culture stays intact is by consistently hiring the right people, Huang said. Here are some of the questions Boxed hiring managers like to ask:

• Tell me something that’s not on your resume.

• Tell me your life story. What are you all about?

• The hiring managers also aren’t afraid to throw in a curveball question every once in a while to see how good the job candidate is at thinking on their feet. (One of these curveballs: “Which country will ban autonomous cars first and why?”)

Huang also takes time to meet with every person who is hired. It’s not a full interview, but more of a “jerk test” to make sure the company is hiring a nice person.

BizConCLE is just one of the many events hosted by COSE and the Greater Cleveland Partnership each year to help give businesses the education and resources needed to succeed. Click here for a list of upcoming events that can help your company grow, too.

No one wants to admit that they’ve had to deal with pest or insect problems in their home or business, but hey – it happens. Dealing with an infestation is probably one of the most frustrating experiences to deal with on top of everything else, and it always seems to happen when you are least prepared for it.  Fortunately, with someone like John Young, owner of Speed Exterminating Co., in town,  you can rest assured that if you were to run into this pesky dilemma, you'll be bug ridden in short time. What's more is that Young isn't your average termite terminator. He runs his business with the same passion, integrity and honesty that his family instilled in the business years ago. 

While Young has been at the forefront of Speed Exterminating since 1998, the business dates back more than 106 years, founded in 1908 by John W. Speed (Young’s great grandfather). After Speed, the business transitioned into the hands of Young’s grandfather, and later his father.  In 1963, the pest company was relocated to Old Brooklyn before once again being passed down to the next generation -- at which time Young acquired the reigns to the family business.

Alongside his dedicated and passionate perspective toward the family’s industry and business, Young has also maintained a deep-rooted connection to volunteering and service.

“I saw [my father] take great pride in having a strong small business community in Cleveland, and I feel that way too,” Young says. “Small businesses are the back bone of Cleveland. If there is going to be an economic revival in Cleveland, it’s going to be because of small businesses.”

Turning his passion into action, Young co-founded the grassroots event, “Pedal for Prizes,” and has also provided leadership for the Cleveland/Akron Cystic Fibrosis Annual Bike Race. In doing so, he has achieved the ideal combo of mixing work with pleasure.

“When I want to get away from the office, I’m big into bicycling,” Young says.

Having been an avid cyclist for over 20 years, Young -- along with four other Old Brooklyn residents -- eventually came to unite his love for cycling with his deep-rooted Old Brooklyn heritage to create the event, “Pedal for Prizes”.

The objective for the event is simple. “The idea is to just get on the bike and ride,” he says.

With its inception in 2010, the event was founded with the idea of bringing together businesses in the Old Brooklyn community while also promoting a healthy and active lifestyle. Each participant is presented with a map that pinpoints 20 destinations. For every destination reached, the riders are given a raffle ticket to be entered for a chance to win various prizes such as Cleveland Indian’s tickets or bicycles. Destinations are divided between local businesses/merchants and points of interest, and are announced on the day of the event.

The event, says Young, provides him the opportunity to give back to and promote a community that means so much to his family and business. “You succeed because the neighborhood succeeds. It’s not my success; it’s the neighborhood’s success,” Young says.

Growing from 75 participants in its first year to over 600 people in 2013, “Pedal for Prizes” has been making a noticeable impact in its surrounding communities.

“Biking gives me an avenue of things I’m capable of doing. I can’t solve world hunger, but I do have a connection to cycling,” says Young.

Along with “Pedal for Prizes,” Young has also been actively engaged in the Cleveland/Akron Cystic Fibrosis Annual Bike Race. Created in 2012, the event raised $40,000 its first year and doubled to $80,000 this past year.

For an involved small business owner like Young, the desire and urge to volunteer is always in abundance and, despite a busy work schedule, he always finds time to give back.

“I want to give back to this community. I want to take time to make a difference,” he says.