Going for Your Personal GOLD!

"The captains of industry do not keep on working for the sake of making money, but for the love of completing a job successfully."

~ Charles M. Schwab

Since the Olympics are nearly here, it is inspiring to think about our own approaches to being our best as each of us strives to "medal" in life by setting ourselves up for winning/earning GOLD...in life!!!

How to do that?

Get prepared for "going for GOLD" by embracing these four aspects to success:

-G-Goals. Assess each area of your life - health, finances, career, friends, family, community, self-confidence, love, fulfillment, and more, and establish measurable accomplishments for each within a set timeframe. By setting goals, you will be on your way to earning your gold. Then, after setting the goals, you can/will have a foundation for what follows.

-O-Others. Determine/select the people who you want to include in your race to the gold carefully. While having cheerleaders and supporters in your corner can be key to success, ensuring that those around you are aware, as well as genuinely supportive makes a huge difference. Believe it or not, you want to have people who see your potential and can give you clear and constructive feedback - not simply "great job" comments (although those can feel great, too!).

-L - Legitimize. Now that you have your objectives/goals in place, and you have included others in knowing your plans, it's time to legitimize it all with action! Based on each goal, determine actions to take, and then create habits through those actions to stay on track as you celebrate small wins on the way to the big goal being realized! Actions leading to habits are most impactful when you do them consistently, and repeatedly, for habits are formed over time. The legitimization is a realization that the actions create results!

-D-Dedication. To get to the gold, self-belief and perseverance will both play their roles. Being dedicated can be taxing if the overall outcome gets lost in the effort. Dedication is the pursuit of being your best. No matter what happens or doesn't happen, what people say and do or don't say or do, your personal dedication is internal, and it is not to be doubted or questioned, for if you have set your goals smartly, included others who are objective in sharing ideas about your growth, and you continually assess and take actions to achieve the results, these all combine to become a dedicated journey, which is what it takes to move beyond success and challenges with positivity and purpose to fully get to your own GOLD!!

As you can see, and likely already feel, it is important to be inspired, light that fire, and realize those desires to get to the GOLD, and while sometimes it can be perplexing to know where to start, having a goal, sharing it with others, taking action, and being dedicated, you create your own path to achieve your personal gold medal as you execute energy toward winning in/at life! 

#BeYourBest #Kind #Consideration #Leadership #PersonalDevelopment #ProfessionalDevelopment

Getting REAL

"Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing." - Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States (1809 - 1865)

Expressions like "Fake it 'til you make it", and "Never let them see you sweat" have become not only acceptable for many for being less than sincere with others...they have even allowed some, sadly, to be shallow with themselves.

Instead of being concerned with what others think, or don't think, of us, how nice would it be to be REAL with ourselves...and others as well? What I mean by REAL is:

R - Relevant. The opposite of relevance is vanity. Remember to be aware, stay abreast of what is happening, know you are not the only person who may be experiencing what is great, or challenging, and keep that perspective while being sad, glad, or anything in between.

E - Enthusiasm. The opposite of enthusiasm is apathy. Your attitude is your enthusiasm...it need not be loud or vocal, just yours. Having a belief in yourself and others while knowing whatever attitude you have is your choice, and your enthusiasm can be contagious...and worth catching!

A - Action. The opposite of action is worry. Worry yields nothing positive. Inaction is action,remember to choose wisely, as actions have rewards & consequences. Own your actions!

L - Leadership. The opposite of leadership is pessimism. The followers are not the opposite of the leader, as the followers are part of what make the leaders' leadership grow. Following is a way of leading self. Lead and guide yourself first, and others later. By leading yourself and setting an example is the way to what I call "Micro-leadership". Lead by example, and learn from experience.

As you maintain being relevant, embrace and share your enthusiasm, take action (and ownership of it), your leadership will continue to develop. These things will get and keep things REAL for you...no faking it, just making it...no sweat required!!!

TIME Ownership & Actions

"All that really belongs to us is time; even he who has nothing else has that." - Baltasar Gracian Spanish Writer (1601 - 1658)

Time is something that is non-renewable, precious, and yet many people act as though it is simply a slippery slope instead of a manageable resource. What causes that? And, how do we overcome that feeling of "no time"!?!

While much attention will not spent on these reasons or excuses, it seems the idea of "I don't have time for XYZ" is simply an acceptable response to someone or something being presented. There is rarely an explanation that is intelligent or encouraging, thoughtful or thorough, rather it just gets blurted as though the person can barely spare the seconds to utter the words, let alone, do whatever is being suggested/asked.

I am not encouraging anyone to say "yes" to everything or fake it on time, or even miss sleep to get things done in order to appear as though you can take on the day with ease and have "all the time in the world"! Instead, please consider eliminating: I'm so busy! I just don't have time for XYZ! You must have a lot more time on your hands than I do! I'm always late! / I'm always rushing! Who has got time for that?

Instead, TIME can be viewed as:

Taking-on, and

Incorporating

Manageable

Expectations

In other words, be focused, be in control, and be appreciative of the time you get. How about: I'm so busy! becomes "It's a full day!" or "It's going to be a productive day!" I just don't have time for XYZ! becomes "No, thank you" or "That's not a good fit for me." You must have a lot more time on your hands than I do! becomes "Good for you that you are dedicating time to what is important to you!" I'm always late! / I'm always rushing! becomes "Because I want to respect your time, let's please meet 15 minutes later." Who has got time for that? becomes a silent smile, rather than judging someone else for his/her choices

By replacing the first expressions that are lifeless and show no control or interest, and even insult the listener by implying you have more things going on than s/he, with these listed above, you will not only communicate more effectively, you will likely feel a sense of management and ownership of your choices, and your actions, which after all, add up to how you spend your TIME!

Awareness, Attitude, Action...Alas!

"Everything you want is out there waiting for you to ask. Everything you want also wants you. But you have to take action to get it." - Jules Renard, French Writer, 1864-1910

While being aware of our strengths and growth opportunities is something that is important for each of us, those bits of awareness serve simply as data points for us unless we check our attitudes about them, and eventually take action.

The attitude we take based on our awareness can be positive or negative, as we can either think of how to incorporate the facts/feedback, or we can plot to defend the reasons we are the way we are. By positively viewing ourselves in a perspective of offerings and improvements, we allow ourselves the chance to both give more of ourselves and grow.

Without the open awareness and forward-focused attitude, our actions will either be to do nothing, or to do things that perpetuate or support keeping us "as is". Being aware with an embracing attitude will combine to lead us to actions that serve us well. The actions for our strengths that are productive are to exercise them, utilize them, and share them. The actions for our growth opportunities that allow for improvement are to understand them, implement new ideas/concepts/approaches, continue to recognize progress, and to stick with it.

Alas, our awareness drives our attitude, and our action is our attitude. What we know, we can process, and what we process, we can implement! So, get aware, check your attitude, and take the action that works for you in your strength-support and your growth-getting each day!

Get the SCORE

"The one exclusive sign of thorough knowledge is the power of teaching." - Aristotle

Often people want us to "check this out" or "take a look at this" because they "thought this might be interesting", and while that may seem thoughtful to them, it becomes a TO-DO for us!

When you have a team sharing things, ask for the SCORE before accepting what they are passing along. The SCORE is:

S - State. State what they are sending, not just "FYI"
C - Cover. Cover 2-4 points about the article, company, opportunity, person, etc. that they deem of interest.
O - Offer. Offer their ideas on the way it works, doesn't work, fits, doesn't fit, potential ways to use or avoid it.
R - Reference. Get them to reference their suggestion of what to do moving forward. What is his/her preferred next step?
E - End. What is the summary statement overall in what they plan to do or want you to do.

Since we teach people how to treat us, the same SCORE tip is true for you when you are sharing with others...family, friends, colleagues or team members, as getting the SCORE up front could mean a win later!

The Power of a BYE List

Our thoughts create our reality - where we put our focus is where we tend to go."


- Peter McWilliams, writer and self-publisher of best-selling self-help books (1949-2000)

The invitations are aleady coming. Turkeys are being bought. Families are preparing for "that" uncle or "that" aunt who does "such-and-such" each year during the holidays. Wow, the holidays are nearly here!

Before you get too caught up in the idea of stuffing and shopping, please consider creating a BYE list. This BYE list will include all you want to do
Before
Year
End

If you make a list of events, people, experiences, and travels, you can decide what is realistic for the amount of time you have before you are ringing in 2012. For the BYE list, start and finish it within 48 hours, and ask anyone with whom you spend a lot of time (spouse, family, friend) to do the same. After you complete it, prioritize those items on the list, and meet with anyone else you asked to make the BYE list. In doing this, you will learn about you, learn about the other person/people, and you can decide what you will do together and what you will do alone or with other people. From there, get out your calendars (phones/iPads), and make the commitment to what you want to do so that you are not standing somewhere on New Year's Eve wishing "if I only had", and excusing it with "but the holidays were so busy".

Go enjoy the things on your list, and make the most of the next 50+ days before 2011 has gone BYE!

NOW Show You are Really Listening!

“Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you'd have preferred to talk.”
- Doug Larson, Cartoonist and Columnist

Ever get distracted in conversations? Even good ones? Yikes, right? Then you start wondering if the other person noticed, and oops, now what was s/he saying?!?!?

The way to get engaged and stay engaged is to do it right NOW:
N – Note strong points on a sheet of paper or through notes on your smart phone or computer. Taking notes engages the sense of touch, and reinforces the sense of sound (hearing) with seeing the words on paper (sight).

O – Offer feedback verbally and non-verbally. Nodding and tilting your head, and allowing facial expressions and other cues to be a part of the conversation will engage your body with your mind. The other person or people in the conversation are “looking” for that acceptance and feedback subconsciously anyway, so it benefits you both.

W – Weigh the options through consideration and questions before simply answering or reacting to the other person. Give the ideas a chance to settle in…even if that means a few seconds of silence. Let the conversation weigh over you so that you are grounded and interacting…and therefore, not distracted.

Getting your NOW mindset for each individual conversation or meeting is a key to communication and leadership success, so go ahead, start really listening…right NOW!!!

Fear=Results Through Nerves, Energy and Action!

“The energy of the mind is the essence of life.”
- Aristotle (Ancient Greek Philosopher, Scientist and Physician, 384 BC-322 BC)

While fear may seem paralyzing at times, remember, fear can be addressed for what it really is…a lack of knowledge, understanding and/or comfort, and eventually facing those obstacles will manifest that paralyzed feeling into the movement that matters most!

When you gather information, comprehension and a level of acceptance of discomfort, you can harness the fear and directed it into (or down to) nerves.

Nerves and nervousness are a form of energy, and energy will power and drive what happens next. If you embrace the nerves, you get to direct the way your nerves flow. From those nerves, you can generate real energy.

Directed energy can become the catalyst for action when you stay the course. Staying the course requires step-by-step movement, or action.
It is action in life that gets results. Repeat the actions you want rewarded, and watch the results follow.

It is from moving from fear through nerves, onto energy, and specifically action, that we get to results, and after all, isn’t that what we want in life…a result of a feeling, a position, money, role, placement, acceptance, or to be able to give more?

Allow your fear to be only what it is allowed to be…and watch what happens, as that fear within will soon become the results you may not have been sure how to achieve!

Your Idea SPACE Approach

“An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea.” ~ Buddha

You live in a world of ideas.

How are you at Sharing, Persuading, Asking, Collaborating and Executing such ideas?

Consider the Idea SPACE approach of:

•Share what the issue is or need at hand as well as what a win/success would be.
•Persuade others to interest with stories and examples.
•Ask if you missed anything to get clarification and on the same page.
•Collaborate together on a firm, sound work-able solution.
•Execute what was decided with tracking and accountability.

As an Entrepreneur, new leader, or established pro, if you make idea SPACE part of your process, effective communication and action will be part of your lasting impression, sales, recognition and results!