Someday I"ll...
Oh come on, people! For crying out loud! Woulda, coulda, shoulda. BLAH!
That someday must be TODAY in order for you to begin making the changes that you want/need to make in your life. How long have you been saying to yourself (or out loud), “I’ll get to that someday.” Or, “I know I need to do that but I just don’t have the time.” Or, “I’m just not ready to take that step just yet.” Well, when will you be ready?
What do you fear? The result of the effort? The changes in your life? The way people will view you as you are rising? Turn those fears into something that you will celebrate. Something that you will look forward to sharing with others as you tell the story of your journey about how you got to your new “place” in life.
It is true that we as humans generally don’t like change. We like for things to be easy and convenient. What if, and this is a big IF, but what if we could take a step off of that path most traveled and create our own path which would lead us directly to the life that we want? It would create some challenges for us, true. It could turn us into a different person, true. It might cause us to want to make additional changes in our life because we now have the confidence in knowing that we can do it.
Most of the obstacles in our lives are in our own minds. We tend to build those walls ourselves and then convince ourselves that we can’t get over them. We can. We can indeed. But how?
This is accomplished by making one conscious decision. To do it. That’s it! Just decide that you WILL accomplish this. Have a plan of action and, here’s the most important part of this process, IMPLEMENT THE PLAN. You can plan to do anything and everything but until you actually being the action to make it happen, it’s still just a plan.
You are empowered! You are skilled! You are about to get off of your ass and GO DO!™
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Making Time – The Realistic Time Management Method
I chuckle when I hear someone say, “Make time for it.” It’s funny to me because deep down I know we can’t “make time” for anything. We don’t have the ability to make time. What we do have the ability to do is put other stuff to the side so that we can take care of this one thing that has now become a priority.
The time we have is the time we have. Period. We can’t produce any more of it and to be quite frank, we don’t even know how much of it we still have available to us. So, when somebody suggests that we make time to do this or to do that, we are really shifting our focus and putting our “things” in a different order on our to do list.
Have you ever spent time doing something and when it was over you said internally or perhaps even out loud, “That was a huge waste of my time,”? Yeah, we all have at some point. But because we don’t realize it until afterwards we don’t expect to feel down about the thirty minutes, hour or week that we know we are never going to get back.
Wouldn’t a time making machine be really cool? Okay, let’s dream for just a few minutes. Close your eyes and imagine… wait, don’t close your eyes. You won’t be able to read on. Just imagine (with your eyes open) that you have the ability to “make time”. How much would you make and what would you do with it? Would you share it? Would you hoard it?
The first question is, “What would you do with the time that you had the ability to produce?” The question to follow that question is, “Why are you not already doing those things in the time that you already have?”
Do the things that you know you should be doing and do them now. We all have a list, whether it’s written down or in our heads. So, what is on your list right now that you need to do? Those things are not going to get completed until you decide to complete them. And, after you decide to complete them, you actually have to put forth the effort and create the action that is going to enable you to complete them.
What is your next step? You already know the answer. GO DO!™
The time we have is the time we have. Period. We can’t produce any more of it and to be quite frank, we don’t even know how much of it we still have available to us. So, when somebody suggests that we make time to do this or to do that, we are really shifting our focus and putting our “things” in a different order on our to do list.
Have you ever spent time doing something and when it was over you said internally or perhaps even out loud, “That was a huge waste of my time,”? Yeah, we all have at some point. But because we don’t realize it until afterwards we don’t expect to feel down about the thirty minutes, hour or week that we know we are never going to get back.
Wouldn’t a time making machine be really cool? Okay, let’s dream for just a few minutes. Close your eyes and imagine… wait, don’t close your eyes. You won’t be able to read on. Just imagine (with your eyes open) that you have the ability to “make time”. How much would you make and what would you do with it? Would you share it? Would you hoard it?
The first question is, “What would you do with the time that you had the ability to produce?” The question to follow that question is, “Why are you not already doing those things in the time that you already have?”
Do the things that you know you should be doing and do them now. We all have a list, whether it’s written down or in our heads. So, what is on your list right now that you need to do? Those things are not going to get completed until you decide to complete them. And, after you decide to complete them, you actually have to put forth the effort and create the action that is going to enable you to complete them.
What is your next step? You already know the answer. GO DO!™
Monday, July 12, 2010
Shortcuts - Being Lazy Creates More Work
In true Andy Rooney style, have you ever wondered why people often spend more time and energy working to get out of doing work than if they had just done what needed to be done in the first place?
People who set goals, write them down, formulate a plan of action and then implement that plan are successful people, mostly. It takes dedication, persistence and the proper attitude to get into a mindset to accomplish those goals. It’s simple yet not easy.
As a general rule, we tend to try to take the easy approach to most everything we do. Think about all of the products and services that are available which cater specifically to making things easy. We work so hard at making things easier we often lose sight of the fact that if we had just done what needed to be done without looking for the shortcut we would have probably saved a lot of time and energy in process.
So, why do we keep doing it? It’s a mental block. We have convinced ourselves that shortcuts are good. They save us time, energy and money… so we think. Are shortcuts beneficial in construction? Are shortcuts beneficial in product design and manufacturing? Are shortcuts beneficial in relationship building? No, no and no. Why then would we believe that shortcuts are good in many other situations?
If you are traveling and you find a shorter route, then okay. I’ll give you that one. But, what have you missed out on by taking route A instead of route B? We don’t know because we didn’t take route B. If we took route B we don’t know what we missed along route A. WOW! What a mess!
So, in the interest of simplicity, (probably too late for that, huh?) we will just say that travel doesn’t count. It’s off the table and not even a consideration in this discussion. Problem solved.
Bottom line, we like to be lazy. We look for easier ways to accomplish goals with productive results. Just because we have done something using a shortcut doesn’t make us a bad person. However, be mindful of the route you took as well as the routes you didn’t take so that you can be assured that along the way, your shortcut didn’t cut you short.
Remember, it takes more time for you to go back, make corrections and fix shortfalls that it would if you just took your time and did it right the first time. GO DO!™
People who set goals, write them down, formulate a plan of action and then implement that plan are successful people, mostly. It takes dedication, persistence and the proper attitude to get into a mindset to accomplish those goals. It’s simple yet not easy.
As a general rule, we tend to try to take the easy approach to most everything we do. Think about all of the products and services that are available which cater specifically to making things easy. We work so hard at making things easier we often lose sight of the fact that if we had just done what needed to be done without looking for the shortcut we would have probably saved a lot of time and energy in process.
So, why do we keep doing it? It’s a mental block. We have convinced ourselves that shortcuts are good. They save us time, energy and money… so we think. Are shortcuts beneficial in construction? Are shortcuts beneficial in product design and manufacturing? Are shortcuts beneficial in relationship building? No, no and no. Why then would we believe that shortcuts are good in many other situations?
If you are traveling and you find a shorter route, then okay. I’ll give you that one. But, what have you missed out on by taking route A instead of route B? We don’t know because we didn’t take route B. If we took route B we don’t know what we missed along route A. WOW! What a mess!
So, in the interest of simplicity, (probably too late for that, huh?) we will just say that travel doesn’t count. It’s off the table and not even a consideration in this discussion. Problem solved.
Bottom line, we like to be lazy. We look for easier ways to accomplish goals with productive results. Just because we have done something using a shortcut doesn’t make us a bad person. However, be mindful of the route you took as well as the routes you didn’t take so that you can be assured that along the way, your shortcut didn’t cut you short.
Remember, it takes more time for you to go back, make corrections and fix shortfalls that it would if you just took your time and did it right the first time. GO DO!™
Monday, July 5, 2010
Tools – Work Smarter, Not Harder
In my area of the world, Louisville, KY, there is new construction taking place downtown. Immediately at the foot of the Clark Memorial Bridge (2nd Street Bridge) stands what will be the new KFC Yum! Center. It will house the University of Louisville Cardinals basketball team and provide a great venue for concerts, events of all types and will surely add more hustle and bustle to the downtown livelihood.
I drive by this site every Wednesday morning while on my to a weekly networking event and I notice the same things every time I drive by. You see, there is a stop light at the end of the bridge, so often I am sitting there waiting for my turn to go and I tend to look around. The men and women who are working on the project are walking from all directions to report for work this early morning hour. They all have their lunch, they all have on a hardhat and they all have on a brightly colored safety vest. From above, I’m sure they would look like a steady stream of ants marching in lines all headed toward the same destination.
Their formation and their timing isn’t what really strikes me. It’s their tools of the trade. Granted, many of their tools await them on the site, but they still have access to them at any time. Much like we have tools available to us, they also have a wide assortment of options enabling them to achieve their goal. Get the building built. Sounds simple, right? Not so much.
Let’s talk about some of their tools. First, the hardhat. On a construction site, stuff falls from above. It just happens. The hardhat protects the wearer from those small items that might come down on them. Granted, if a cable breaks and an I beam comes down on someone, the hardhat is not going to help the poor sap who just happens to be in the line of fire. He’s a goner. The hardhat protects from nuts, bolts, nails, etc. The bigger stuff? Well, best of luck.
The safety vest enables workers to be visible. Ah, to be seen. Important! But again, the falling tool chest from four stories above isn’t going to be thwarted by the vest.
With these two pieces of safety gear, the workers are preparing in two ways. The safety vest attempts to prevent an incident from occurring. The helmet protects the person when things go a little wrong. One is action to prevent and the other is action to protect.
What do you have active in your life or your business to prevent the wrong things from even happening? And second, what protection do you have in place and how prepared are you to react when things go really, really wrong?
If we would just use the simple tools that are available to us and pay attention to the details about the results, we could all celebrate more often. GO DO!™
I drive by this site every Wednesday morning while on my to a weekly networking event and I notice the same things every time I drive by. You see, there is a stop light at the end of the bridge, so often I am sitting there waiting for my turn to go and I tend to look around. The men and women who are working on the project are walking from all directions to report for work this early morning hour. They all have their lunch, they all have on a hardhat and they all have on a brightly colored safety vest. From above, I’m sure they would look like a steady stream of ants marching in lines all headed toward the same destination.
Their formation and their timing isn’t what really strikes me. It’s their tools of the trade. Granted, many of their tools await them on the site, but they still have access to them at any time. Much like we have tools available to us, they also have a wide assortment of options enabling them to achieve their goal. Get the building built. Sounds simple, right? Not so much.
Let’s talk about some of their tools. First, the hardhat. On a construction site, stuff falls from above. It just happens. The hardhat protects the wearer from those small items that might come down on them. Granted, if a cable breaks and an I beam comes down on someone, the hardhat is not going to help the poor sap who just happens to be in the line of fire. He’s a goner. The hardhat protects from nuts, bolts, nails, etc. The bigger stuff? Well, best of luck.
The safety vest enables workers to be visible. Ah, to be seen. Important! But again, the falling tool chest from four stories above isn’t going to be thwarted by the vest.
With these two pieces of safety gear, the workers are preparing in two ways. The safety vest attempts to prevent an incident from occurring. The helmet protects the person when things go a little wrong. One is action to prevent and the other is action to protect.
What do you have active in your life or your business to prevent the wrong things from even happening? And second, what protection do you have in place and how prepared are you to react when things go really, really wrong?
If we would just use the simple tools that are available to us and pay attention to the details about the results, we could all celebrate more often. GO DO!™
Monday, June 28, 2010
Cutting the Grass
I despise yard work. Don’t know why. I just do. I wasn’t traumatized as a child with grass clippings or a pile of raked leaves. I just don’t enjoy it and never look forward to having to do it.
But I do it anyway because I know it has to be done. I put a positive spin on it. I focus on the end result. I imagine what the property is going to look like when I am finished. Not only do I imagine it, I finish it, walk across the street and admire my work. I celebrate, sort of. I won’t jump up and down screaming and yelling about it. That would supply the neighbors with additional evidence as to my mental state. But I internally celebrate with the warm fuzzy feeling of accomplishment.
We tend to live our lives in the same fashion. While this yard stuff is just one element of my life, I have other things that I don’t enjoy but I still do them. We all do. We do them because we focus on the end result. When we finish, we step back and celebrate our accomplishment.
Take visiting relatives for example. Some we love to see and others, not so much. For those in the latter category, we focus on the end result. That end result being when we are pulling out of the driveway, waving goodbye and smiling, thankful that we are finally leaving the hell that has had us imprisoned for the past two or three hours.
Oh, and just think if “Cousin Eddie” (see National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation) wanted me to cut his grass. (see latter category above)
Bottom line here is despite the blood, sweat and tears that we must experience to get us through our everyday drab, if we focus on the end result, we can stand back, admire our work, respect our struggle and bask in the glow of our results. GO DO!™
But I do it anyway because I know it has to be done. I put a positive spin on it. I focus on the end result. I imagine what the property is going to look like when I am finished. Not only do I imagine it, I finish it, walk across the street and admire my work. I celebrate, sort of. I won’t jump up and down screaming and yelling about it. That would supply the neighbors with additional evidence as to my mental state. But I internally celebrate with the warm fuzzy feeling of accomplishment.
We tend to live our lives in the same fashion. While this yard stuff is just one element of my life, I have other things that I don’t enjoy but I still do them. We all do. We do them because we focus on the end result. When we finish, we step back and celebrate our accomplishment.
Take visiting relatives for example. Some we love to see and others, not so much. For those in the latter category, we focus on the end result. That end result being when we are pulling out of the driveway, waving goodbye and smiling, thankful that we are finally leaving the hell that has had us imprisoned for the past two or three hours.
Oh, and just think if “Cousin Eddie” (see National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation) wanted me to cut his grass. (see latter category above)
Bottom line here is despite the blood, sweat and tears that we must experience to get us through our everyday drab, if we focus on the end result, we can stand back, admire our work, respect our struggle and bask in the glow of our results. GO DO!™
Monday, June 21, 2010
Row, Row, Row Your Boat… With A Purpose
Recently, I attended an out of town conference relating to business and networking. Hundreds of others were in attendance with similar industry accomplishments, goals and hopes. While looking around and taking notice of the way others carried themselves and how they reacted to a variety of situations, I made an observation. We are all in the same boat.
I wasn’t struck by this with much force because it was a pre-existing known. What really did strike me was that not only were we in the same boat, we were helping one another with our oars, the securing of the anchor all the way down to stocking and carrying the cooler onto the vessel.
As I watched and listened I began to get overwhelmed by the amount of information that was in front of me. We only had three days and there was absolutely no way for any of us to talk with everybody on our list of desired because there were non-stop additions to the list.
Granted, many of us had been planning for months in advance to sit and talk about specific topics. But once we got there and met new folks that we had no idea were even going to be there, the task of time management became that much more difficult.
So, the time came for decisions. What are my immediate goals and what information did I expect to give (and get) during my meetings? How do I stay focused on my primary goals and expectations with so many great distractions surrounding me? Is there a definitive answer to this? Hardly.
The purpose of going is to be fed information to consider for implementation upon returning to our respective areas of the world. The approach is similar to the way one would eat an elephant. One bite at a time. Now, I’ve never eaten elephant and don’t plan to, but you get the idea here.
With each step we take, with every thought that bounces around in our heads, with every stroke of the oars, we must focus on one thing at a time in order to be productive. If our rowing team has similar goals and is rowing in the same direction and we do that in unison, we’ll get there quicker and more easily.
You see, working as a team keeps us focused. It creates accountability. Teamwork allows those who are strong and motivated to coach and help those who are striving to be better. When we raise others up through helping them achieve their goals, we silently take a step or two up ourselves.
So chart your course, prepare your crew and row, my friends! Row! GO DO!™
I wasn’t struck by this with much force because it was a pre-existing known. What really did strike me was that not only were we in the same boat, we were helping one another with our oars, the securing of the anchor all the way down to stocking and carrying the cooler onto the vessel.
As I watched and listened I began to get overwhelmed by the amount of information that was in front of me. We only had three days and there was absolutely no way for any of us to talk with everybody on our list of desired because there were non-stop additions to the list.
Granted, many of us had been planning for months in advance to sit and talk about specific topics. But once we got there and met new folks that we had no idea were even going to be there, the task of time management became that much more difficult.
So, the time came for decisions. What are my immediate goals and what information did I expect to give (and get) during my meetings? How do I stay focused on my primary goals and expectations with so many great distractions surrounding me? Is there a definitive answer to this? Hardly.
The purpose of going is to be fed information to consider for implementation upon returning to our respective areas of the world. The approach is similar to the way one would eat an elephant. One bite at a time. Now, I’ve never eaten elephant and don’t plan to, but you get the idea here.
With each step we take, with every thought that bounces around in our heads, with every stroke of the oars, we must focus on one thing at a time in order to be productive. If our rowing team has similar goals and is rowing in the same direction and we do that in unison, we’ll get there quicker and more easily.
You see, working as a team keeps us focused. It creates accountability. Teamwork allows those who are strong and motivated to coach and help those who are striving to be better. When we raise others up through helping them achieve their goals, we silently take a step or two up ourselves.
So chart your course, prepare your crew and row, my friends! Row! GO DO!™
Monday, June 14, 2010
The Shaking of A Hand
I'm walking into a meeting/networking event and a bit timid because I have zero pre-existing relationships with anyone in the room. I'm the new guy. But wait, they don't know me either so that makes them the new guy to me.
I begin to roam the room hoping that an ambassador or an appointed connector will spot me and approach me to save me from my agony. It happens. A very nice lady walks directly toward me making eye contact and displaying a big smile with her outreached arm. She was walking at a fast pace directly toward me to give me a warm welcome. I'm looking forward to this. She looks fabulous and professional. I can feel her energy before she even gets to me. I extend my hand, she hers and we make that initial connection with a handshake.
We interlocked and maintained throughout the introductions. She was firm, yet gentle with the clasp of my hand. She wouldn't let go. Then, her other hand came into play. My right hand was now sandwiched between the two of hers. The usual up and down handshake protocol was in full force. I was unsure as to just when (or if) I was going to be turned loose. I wasn't necessarily uncomfortable but I was beginning to wish that I would be set free sometime soon.
She was letting me know, through both her words and the eternal handshake that she was happy to meet me and happy to introduce me to folks in the room.
Once released, I felt like a new man. I was now set free from my anxiety about being in a room full of strangers. I was escorted from one cluster of people to another being introduced as a visitor for the day.
I will remember that handshake forever. The impact that something as simple as a handshake can have is remarkable.
What impact are you having on people when you meet them for the first time? GO DO!™
I begin to roam the room hoping that an ambassador or an appointed connector will spot me and approach me to save me from my agony. It happens. A very nice lady walks directly toward me making eye contact and displaying a big smile with her outreached arm. She was walking at a fast pace directly toward me to give me a warm welcome. I'm looking forward to this. She looks fabulous and professional. I can feel her energy before she even gets to me. I extend my hand, she hers and we make that initial connection with a handshake.
We interlocked and maintained throughout the introductions. She was firm, yet gentle with the clasp of my hand. She wouldn't let go. Then, her other hand came into play. My right hand was now sandwiched between the two of hers. The usual up and down handshake protocol was in full force. I was unsure as to just when (or if) I was going to be turned loose. I wasn't necessarily uncomfortable but I was beginning to wish that I would be set free sometime soon.
She was letting me know, through both her words and the eternal handshake that she was happy to meet me and happy to introduce me to folks in the room.
Once released, I felt like a new man. I was now set free from my anxiety about being in a room full of strangers. I was escorted from one cluster of people to another being introduced as a visitor for the day.
I will remember that handshake forever. The impact that something as simple as a handshake can have is remarkable.
What impact are you having on people when you meet them for the first time? GO DO!™
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