Capstone Consultants with a story about an inspirational little girl

http://www.alexslemonade.org/about

Alex’s Lemonade Stand

This foundation was created to raise money and awareness of childhood cancer causes, primarily focused on research into new treatments, and cures.  Their purpose also is to encourage and empower others, especially children, to get them involved with making a difference for children with cancer.

Their founder and creator is a little girl named Alex. She was diagnosed with childhood cancer just before her first birthday. When she was 4, she told her parents that she wanted to set up a lemonade stand in the front yard. When asked by her parents what she had planned to do with the money, she stated that her plan was to raise money to give to doctors to help them find a cure for cancer. Her first “Alex’s Lemonade Stand” was held with the help of her older brother Patrick; they raised an astonishing $2,000 in one day. Alex continued to set up her lemonade stand every year, while very bravely fighting childhood cancer herself. As news spread of this remarkable little girl, so dedicated to helping other sick children, people everywhere were inspired to start their own lemonade stands and donating proceeds to her cause.

Sadly in 2004 Alex passed away at the age of 8. Her stand and inspiration had at that point raised more than one million dollars towards finding a cure for the disease that took her own life. Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation was started by her parents in 2005 to continue the work that Alex has started. Their mission is simple: to raise money for, and awareness of childhood cancer causes- especially research into new treatments and cures- and to encourage and empower others (especially children) to get involved in making a difference for children that suffer with cancer.

Since Alex set up her very first lemonade stand back in 2000, and truly exemplifying the saying “When life hands you lemons, make lemonade”- ALSF has raised more than $50 million. That money has helped to

-Fund over 200 cutting-edge research projects

-Set up a travel program to help the families of children receiving treatment

-Develop resources to help people everywhere affected by childhood cancer

This foundation is the living embodiment of Alex’s determination and hope. Alex believed that every person can make a difference, and that together they could find a cure. 

Capstone Consultants with an inspirational story

The Elephant Rope

As a man was passing the elephants, he suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg. No chains, no cages. It was obvious that the elephants could, at anytime, break away from their bonds but for some reason, they did not.

He saw a trainer nearby and asked why these animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away. “Well,” trainer said, “when they are very young and much smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, it’s enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free.”

The man was amazed. These animals could at any time break free from their bonds but because they believed they couldn’t, they were stuck right where they were.

Like the elephants, how many of us go through life hanging onto a belief that we cannot do something, simply because we failed at it once before?

Failure is part of learning; we should never give up the struggle in life.

Original post: http://www.inspirationalstories.com/the-elephant-rope/

Capstone Consultants Operations Manager wins trip to Malibu

Capstone Consultants’ management team would like to offer congratulations to our Operations Manager Shenna, for being selected to attend a professional development seminar in Malibu this May. Shenna was hand selected out of over sixty other office managers to enjoy three day retreat in Malibu. She will get the opportunity to visit one-on-one with executives of the largest outsourced direct marketing firm in the world and partake in a Franklin Covey training course. Shenna was selected based on her ability to manage the operations and drive the growth of the largest and fastest growing marketing firm in the Carolina's, Capstone Consultants, Inc. 

Over the last four months alone she has helped three people get promoted into a management position and has helped create the strongest team at Capstone Consultants to date. Malibu won’t be all work for Shenna though; she gets a free day in Malibu to shop enjoy the beaches and have dinner with some of the best in the business. Shenna has been with Capstone for over three years and hit several promotions since starting at the entry level in December of 2008. She has consistently shown an amazing work ethic and is always going above and beyond her day to day task. 

Capstone Consultants at Keys to Success

The management team here at Capstone Consultants spent the first weekend of February in the warm, sunny, and beautiful downtown Atlanta at the annual Keys to Success conference where we learned, and were motivated for our 2012 goals by some of the best in the business. It was a very educational and entertaining weekend!

The keynote speaker for the weekend was a gentleman by the name of Eric Greitens, he’s a navy seal who served time overseas for the war and is founder and CEO of his own non-profit organization, The Mission Continues, which is an organization that helps veterans find a way to serve their community and country after they return from war. Eric also spoke about the intense training (Known as BUDS Basic Underwater Demolition/Seal training) that someone goes through to become a navy seal and how it tests them mentally and physically.

Other speakers at the conference focused on the successes of the business in 2011 and the goals set for 2012. We discussed new clients and potential markets, as well as had breakout sessions for more specified training in different areas of our business. We were also entertained by Cirque du Soleil and clowns in between speakers, and Saturday evening’s dinner was and event full of fun, games, activities, and networking.

Capstone Consultants will help you dress for success at your next interview!

How to dress for success!

First impression by definition means the lasting image or effect that stays in someone’s mind upon first encountering them. The first impression that you make on a potential employer is an important one. The first impression a potential employer will have on someone is typically based on what they are wearing and how they present themselves. This is why it is important to dress professionally for a job interview even if the dress in the office is casual.

What exactly is the appropriate dress for an interview? You want your first impression of your future employer not to just be good, but to be great. A candidate who is dressed in a suit and tie is by far going to make a much more lasting impression that a candidate who is dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. Here are some tips to follow for when dressing for an interview.

Men’s Interview Attire

-Suit: Solid color (navy, dark gray, or black)

-Long sleeve dress shirt (either white or coordinated with the suit)

-Belt

-Tie

-Dark socks with conservative leather dress shoes

- Little to no Jewelry

-Neat and professional hair style

- Little to no aftershave and cologne

-Neatly trimmed nails

-Portfolio or briefcase

Women’s Interview Attire

-Suit (Navy, black, or dark gray)

- Suit skirt (if worn) should be long enough so you can sit down comfortably

-Coordinated blouse

-Conservative shoes

-Limited Jewelry (no dangly earrings, big necklaces, or arms full of bracelets, no jewelry is better than cheap jewelry)

-Professional hair style (up or pinned back)

- Neutral pantyhose

-Light to no make-up, and minimal perfume

-Neatly manicured clean nails

-Portfolio or briefcase

What not to do/wear/bring to an interview

-Gum

-Cell phone

-Ipod

-Coffee or soda

-Lost of piercings (ladies may wear one set of earrings, all others should be left at home)

-Cover all tattoos

Interview attire tips

-Before you go on an interview, you want to make sure that your suit fits properly and is clean.

-Get your suit ready the day before so that you don’t have to waste time getting it together day of.

-Take your suit to the dry cleaners after an interview, that way it is ready for the next time.

-Polish your shoes

-Bring a breath mint, or breath spray, and use before entering the building.

Capstone Consultants will help you stay motivated

How to keep yourself motivated

Original Writer- Editor in Chief, Pick the Brain

Keeping yourself motivated can be a struggle no doubt. Drive is constantly murdered by negative thoughts and worries about things that haven’t even happened yet. The thing that separates successful people from people who fail is the ability to stay motivated and keep moving forward.

To be honest there really is no simple solution for this problem even after getting motivated again there will always be those negative things that try and drag you down and squash your motivation.  The thing to be constantly working towards is learning to understand your thoughts and how they drive you emotions. You have to learn how to nurture motivating thoughts, focus at the task at hand, and you’ll be able to achieve anything you set out to.

3 Most common reasons why we lose our motivation

1- Lack of confidence: if you don’t believe you can succeed, then why are you trying?

2- Lack of focus: if you don’t know what you’re working towards, then is there really anything you want?

3- Lack of direction: if you don’t know what to do, how can you be motivated to do anything at all?

How to boost confidence

The first way to lose your motivation is a lack of confidence. When you lose your confidence it is usually because you’re choosing to focus on what you want and are neglecting what you already have. When you only think about want, your mind will create reasons and excuses for why you aren’t getting it. This creates negative thoughts. 

The way to steer away from these thoughts is to focus on gratitude. Set aside time to focus on the positive things in life. Keep a mental list of your strengths and accomplishments. Most of us have a tendency to take our strengths for granted and focus on our failures. Learning to feel grateful will help you to realize how competent and successful you already are. This will rejuvenate your confidence and help you get motivated to accomplish your next success. 

When you think negatively your mind finds examples and distorts reality to confirm your beliefs. When you really believe that you deserve success, your mind will generate ways for you to accomplish it.

Developing Tangible Focus

The second way to kill your motivation is lack of confidence. Don’t focus on what you don’t want, focus on a tangible goal. Normally we think in terms of fear, afraid of being poor, afraid of being alone, afraid of losing respect. When you focus on your fears, it feeds on itself and grows and drains you.

Focus all of the energy you’re wasting on fear on a well defined goal. When you set a goal, you have a set of actions or a step by step process in place that will assure you reach that goal. The key is moving from an intangible desire to concrete, measurable steps. 

By focusing on a positive, attainable goal instead of an ambiguous fear, you put your brain to work. It instantly begins devising a plan for success. Instead of worrying about the future you start to actually do something about it. This is the first step in motivating yourself to take action, when you know what you want; it motivates you to devise a plan to achieve it.

Developing Direction

The final piece in the motivational puzzle is direction. Focus is the ultimate goal; direction is how you get there. Having a lack of direction will make you lose your motivation because without that step by step process, you’ll succumb to procrastination. The key to finding direction is identifying the activities that lead to success. Make an action plan that focuses on the activities that lead to big returns on your goals

Capstone Consultants rules for setting goals

The Rules for Good Goal Setting

Originally posted by Posted on May 13, 2008 in: IQ Matrix Maps, Life Success http://blog.iqmatrix.com/mind-map/smart-goal-setting-mind-map

Happy New Year to all of our readers! Here are some really awesome rules to follow when you’re setting goals that you want to accomplish this year.

1. Write positively: All of your goals MUST be written in a positive manner. This means writing them in a fashion that keeps your mind set on what it is that you want or want to accomplish, not what you want to avoid.

2. Have a personal benefit: Your goals that you set must have a beneficial outcome for you. This means that for every goal you set must help or benefit you in some way with your long term fulfillment and what you want in life.  Lots of people fall into the trap of achieving goals that are set for them by other people. This is definitely something to be avoided. If this sounds like you then you have to break the habit or else you will never be able to reach your full potential. Take control and responsibility of your goals and adjust them so that they benefit you.

3. Preserves current life benefits: Another one of these goal setting traps is when people set goals that have no relevance to their interests and what is best for them and their life style. If goals are set in this manner then the goal can almost become un-motivating.  If you are setting goals that do not benefit your lifestyle it ends up being a waste of time, you’ll be un-motivated to reach it and will also be unsuccessful in attaining it.

4. Desirable: you have to WANT to achieve the goals you set. Without the desire to reach your goals you will consistently have problems staying motivated. When you set undesirable goals you will simply give in to any obstacle that comes in the way. Lack of motivation is a waste of time that will keep you going around in circles for the rest of your life.

5. Challenging: If you don’t appropriately make your goals challenging you’ll get bored with trying to reach them. You want to your goals to just slightly be out of your reach so that it is physically attainable but keeps you pushing yourself to reach them.

6. In Everyone’s Best Interests: Always keep in mind the moral high ground. Your goals have to always stay consistently in the interest of everyone who surrounds you and will be influenced by its achievement. If your goals don’t support interest and goals of who you are surrounded by then you are guaranteed to face many challenges trying to achieve it and could possibly never reach them.