Core values, clear vision key to success

Lee Ann Piano of Noteworthy Training Inc. runs a group of local women through Assertiveness Boot Camp during a Women in Business luncheon at Downtown Soiree, Princeton.

NewsTribune photo/Lindsay Vaugh

PRINCETON — Assertiveness isn’t about what you do, it’s about who you are. Lee Ann Piano of Noteworthy Training Inc. shared tips for building self-esteem, communicating effectively and laying a foundation for a more effective life during a Women in Business luncheon Friday held by Princeton Chamber of Commerce.
“It really boils down to habits,” Piano said. “Where you are in your life is really determined by the habits that you have formed, so if there’s something in your life that is not working, you have to trace back and figure out, ‘OK, what is the habit that I need to change?’”
Piano encouraged the women to identify a set of core values — like faith, integrity and compassion — and personal principles, or examples of how to demonstrate those values. Each woman must have a clear vision of who she is and where she wants to go in life to be assertive.
Many people get bogged down by “stinking thinking” like making excuses and negative statements about one’s self.
To break this habit and increase their self-esteem and confidence, Piano encouraged the women to picture their success, practice positive internal dialogue and realize the power of words.
Assertiveness is not aggressiveness, Piano emphasized.
“It’s the middle ground between being a bully and being a doormat,” she said.
“This is what ‘I’ think. This is how ‘I’ feel. This is how ‘I’ see the situation. It’s a lot of ‘I’ language. It’s not ‘You should..,’ ‘You have to..,’ ‘You’re always..,’ ‘You,’ ‘You,’ ‘You.’”