Small Changes in Words = Big Impact

This is the second part of the words matter message. Words are a part of how we are perceived. Making some small changes in word selection may make big changes in your impact, and therefore, your results, including the following:

Celebrating Results and More...

"Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it." ~ Greg Anderson, American best-selling Author and founder of the American Wellness Project. (b.1964)

When you are on your way to the "big" year-end, the "big" party, the "big" close of a sale or project, please remember the (seemingly) little efforts and each person and action that lead to that finale as well!

The results and ends to things can be fun to celebrate, and a little more easily recognized, while the "in process" is worth your recognition, too!

Child-like Behaviors = Adult Results

“It is the childlike mind that finds the kingdom.” - Charles Fillmore, American Linguist (b. 1929)

When was the last time you acted like a child? Have you been recently you have acted childish? The two are not the same, you know!!! The former I am supporting, and the latter, well, I think you already know about that one…

We mature, responsible adults can get caught up in the seriousness of our adult lives, and yet being all too serious can eclipse the fun that we have to make the time to have! Sure, sure, we have places to be, bills to pay, proposals to finish, a dog that could use a bath, or a room to organize (really, does the list go on and on like that?!?!?), and yet unless we allow ourselves to “play”, we will feel the lack of fun in our personal and professional lives.

I am not promoting skipping an event for which you have RSVPed or calling in sick, rather, either allow yourself “fun time” each day or week for something (somewhat) spontaneous, and/or schedule something childlike or playful each day or each week. Playing can be one of the most important thing we can do for ourselves and for those we want to feel connected to personally and/or professionally. Much research shows children learn the most through active play. Play generates creativity, endorphins, relaxation, heart-rate fluctuations and/or all of the above!

So, make a list of something you can do that is simply fun. If it accomplishes no other goal than having a good time, that alone is enough. You may want to do this with your spouse, partner or team…heck even your whole company! You may want to be child-like all by yourself. That is up to you! Go ahead, get out there and enjoy your day, your week, your life like you did when you had less on your plate, and likely you will feel lighter, better, and even more equipped to tackle those adult responsibilities once you have played…once you have acted like the child you once were, in order to enhance the adult you now are!

The Environment You Create

“Be careful the environment you choose for it will shape you; be careful the friends you choose for you will become like them.” - W. Clement Stone, American best-selling Author and Founder of Combined Insurance Co (now a part of Aon Corp.), 1902-2002)

As a leader, you set the tone...or you allow the tone to be set. For your business, and therefore, your results, that is the environment in which you work. The same is true in life for the environment in which you live.

The way to ensure you are enhancing your work and life with your environment is to do an enviro-check for you, meaning what works for you and what does not, including:
• The surroundings
• The color(s)
• The sounds
• The space
• The culture/attitudes
• The people

While the first four may seem easier to change than the last two, all are important. Where you are, what envelops you as far as color and space, the "feel", and the people all summarize to create either a healthy or non-healthy environment for you.

If you do an enviro-check and all is well, good for you! If you do the check, and it's not so great, then make the subtle or grand changes to ensure your environment is leading you to the approach, the actions, and the results you want (and deserve!)!

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!

A Positive Mantra for Positive Results

"Success is the progressive realization of worthwhile, predetermined, personal goals."

~ Paul J. Meyer

Whether this is the time of year you have really embraced a resolution and created a habit, or if this is that season of reflection of asking what was it I thought I was going to change for 2011, there are a few quick inner messages you can set, readjust or introduce to make a bit of your own personal mantra for moving forward with confidence, focus and boundaries.

Take a couple of minutes to complete the following statements with positive, realistic, and attainable actions or characteristics:

I WANT (TO) ____________
I WILL ___________
I AM ____________
I AM IN THE PROCESS OF _______________
I DO _____________

For example, mine currently reads:
I WANT ONLY POSITIVE ENERGY AROUND ME
I WILL FINISH MY BOOK BY MONTH-END
I AM INSIGHTFUL AND CARING PERSONALLY AND PROFESSIONALLY
I AM IN THE PROCESS OF ENHANCING MY STREAMLINING AND ORGANIZATION SKILLS
I DO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE LIVES AND BUSINESSES OF EACH OF MY CLIENTS

Yours may be similar or completely different, but if it is about you, for you, and you write it, print/post it, or both, and embrace the comments fully to the point of belief and commitment, they will actually "be" once you believe it, and layer it with your follow-through actions.

Remember, being reflective and forward focused, with a realistic, thriving edge to your vision, will have you engaged in the next habit for all the well-serving reasons...and the results!

Knowing…or “No”ing

“Wisdom is knowing what to do next, skill is knowing how to do it, and virtue is doing it.”
~ David Starr Jordan, American ichthyologist, educator, writer

No self, no want, no plan; no progressive results…

Know self, know want, know plan; know progressive results!

Before we can get to the result, and there always is a result, whether it is intentional or not, we have the option to blindly, or even optimistically stumble with the approach of “no”ing to an end, OR we can make time for knowledge and the application of knowledge in order to mindfully and directly impact the result(s).

Ourselves, and people on our teams, as well as those in our partnerships/alignments, are either 1) those who know, or 2) those who choose not to know. (Knowing is loosely interpreted here as being aware, acknowledging, and accepting.)

So, before you or your team move forward on a project, proposal or plan, please ensure you know yourself; that is the person or people involved, you know your want; that is what your desire looks like, know your plan; or how you will be able to realistically get there, and know your progressive result; that is both the forward motion and tangible outcomes.

Without knowing, we are simply “no”ing. We’re just ill-informed, or worse yet, oblivious, and with knowledge, and the applied efforts that such knowledge brings, we can, and are far more likely to have that success, that win that will feed positively into knowing ourselves even more, growing our wants, sticking to plans and continuing to impact results. The circle of knowing is one of very little “no”!

Plan the Work & Work the Plan!

Benjamin Franklin said “Drive your business! Let not that drive thee.”

Not a superior athlete, outstanding coach, or effective teacher has crossed my path who did not have a plan. While some started just with an idea, and others with a grand vision, each of these people had a workout plan, an offensive or defensive plan, or a lesson plan. Similarly, the truly successful, confident and organized business leaders who were prepared for growth and change had a business plan.

Everyone mentioned succeeded with a plan…not because of a plan, or in spite of a plan, but with a plan…with the right plan for them.

Business plans, like personal approaches, are not one-size fits all, and creating a plan for the sake of having one is likely to drive a bit of confidence and raise some awareness, but it is just a plan.

Brian Tracy shared “A clear vision, backed by definite plans, gives you a tremendous feeling of confidence and personal power.” I agree. Yet, without direction, focus, and real (read as realistic) numbers, no matter how carefully written, a business plan is just a slew of words and numbers.

There are a lot of steps in a business plan. Knowing your customers, your products, developing budgets, strategies and approaches, but the one thing that gets talked about very little is the unwritten part of the plan…the action. For a plan to work, it must be a living document that is current, appropriate and adds value to the overall business. The ideas shared and goals/figures projected must be worked, acted upon and realized.

Peter Drucker said 1 hour planning was worth 3 hours of doing” and that is true for creating the plan…and then the doing must be done! If you do not have a business plan, consider starting one, and if you have one, dust it off and review it for the purpose and usefulness. Plans, like people and businesses can and should be updated in order to keep serving itself and others well!

Allow Other's Inspiration, Make Your Motivation!

There are amazing and inspirational people all around us!

My friend, Melissa, just finished the Walk to Santiago, where she persevered in wind, cold, heat and dryness alone on a walk that was inspired by the book The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo (a wonderful, quick read!). She experienced inspiration in literature and found motivation in herself. She did it right...and with an amazing affect! Congratulations to Melissa!

Often people seek others' stories, ideas, experiences for motivation rather than inspiration. Inspiration is time-based and external, where motivation is internal and purpose-driven. When I meet someone and s/he expressed "oh you are a motivational speaker" after I share what I do, I simply smile, and offer the difference in motivation and inspiration. Quite a bit of the time people remind me that they had not thought of it that way. Then, almost as frequently, I am asked "then how come people call themselves motivational speakers?". I believe it is because a lot of people do think they can motivate others. I do not claim to be that powerful since motivation is what carries one through to the end. I will not be there for every thought and experience, just as the book was not those things for Melissa. Her motivation was sparked by the reading and story in the book, and that inspired her to tap into her own, pure motivation.

Like Melissa, those who seek inspiration in others and stories, knowing they are personalizing them and making a plan for themselves, will likely see their accomplishment through, for they are relying on themselves and learning and growing as themselves and for themselves...without the need for external pushing.

I am all for inspiration, that is part of what I provide, I am just humble and aware enough to know it only goes so far. When you see or hear something inspirational, personalize it, look for tools to make it your own, and then watch your own motivation drive you to your results!