Sunday, August 29, 2010

Ambition

Quote
"Keep away from those who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you believe that you too can become great."
-Mark Twain

My Thoughts
Instead of sharing my thoughts this week, I will share this video from Brian Tracy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P14Rxcvnf4E

Until next time...

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Judgement

Quote
"If you would convince a man that he does wrong, do right. But do not care to convince him. Men will believe what they see. Let them see."
-Henry David Thoreau

My Thoughts
Occasionally you may find yourself pointing your finger in judgment of other people. Ultimately this ends up being a large waste of energy. In order for you to grow you have to be willing to rise up above a situation.
It goes back to the idea that you can't stop violence with violence.

How can you use this idea?

Let's suppose for a minute that you have a goal that you would like to achieve. You find that many people around you are telling you that you can't do it, it's impossible, just give up, etc... Instead of trying to convince them that you are right, which usually leads to arguments, show them by taking action on that goal.
By achieving the goal you will have risen above the situation instead of getting tied up in the negativity.

Until next time....

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Questions

Quote
"If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on the solution, I would spend the first 55 minutes determining the proper question to ask, for once I know the proper question, I could solve the problem in less than five minutes."
-Einstein

My Thoughts
I've mentioned about questions for shifting perception quite a few times before. Questions are critical to allow you to look at the same situation a different way. This is why coaching relies heavily on questions.
I believe the story below does a great job on getting this point across:

"A classic story illustrates very well the potential cost of placing a problem in a disciplinary box. It involves a multistoried office building in New York. Occupants began complaining about the poor elevator service provided in the building. Waiting times for elevators at peak hours, they said, were excessively long. Several of the tenants threatened to break their leases and move out of the building because of this…

Management authorized a study to determine what would be the best solution. The study revealed that because of the age of the building no engineering solution could be justified economically. The engineers said that management would just have to live with the problem permanently.

The desperate manager called a meeting of his staff, which included a young recently hired graduate in personnel psychology…The young man had not focused on elevator performance but on the fact that people complained about waiting only a few minutes. Why, he asked himself, were they complaining about waiting for only a very short time? He concluded that the complaints were a consequence of boredom. Therefore, he took the problem to be one of giving those waiting something to occupy their time pleasantly. He suggested installing mirrors in the elevator boarding areas so that those waiting could look at each other or themselves without appearing to do so. The manager took up his suggestion. The installation of mirrors was made quickly and at a relatively low cost. The complaints about waiting stopped.

Today, mirrors in elevator lobbies and even on elevators in tall buildings are commonplace."

When you alter the questions that you ask yourself, you will change the answers you are receiving.

So, how can you use this in your life?

Well, lets suppose you are having problems finding a job.....or finding a job that you like.
One thing many people do is look at their past or current results and see what they can do.
The problem with that is it keeps you stuck in a box.
The question that typically runs through many people's mind is "What can I get?" instead of "What do I want to do?". The first question is looking from the problem which is very limiting. The second question is starting to look from the solution which allows for exploration.
That slight change will let you to look at the situation differently.

Until next time...

Monday, August 9, 2010

Focus

Quote
"One reason so few of us achieve what we truly want is that we never direct our focus; we never concentrate our power. Most people dabble their way through life, never deciding to master anything in particular. "
-Anthony Robbins

My Thoughts
I went to a meeting on Friday with a very diverse group of people. The group was made up of very successful business owners, authors, professors, professional speakers, CEO's, and a few people that were on their way up in their respective organizations.

One gentlemen I met was the COO of a successful Korean company. But that's not what made him interesting, the interesting thing about him was he is a magician in his spare time. Yes, a magician.
How did I find this out?
Well, he took my business card and made it disappear in all sorts of different ways.
I honestly had no idea how he pulled off the trick so well multiple times right in front of me.
He then showed me how he did the trick.

The funny thing is after he showed me how to do it, it became very obvious where the card was during the trick. Why? Because instead of him directing my focus away from where he hid the card, my focus was widened and taking in more than what he wanted me to see.

I started to think about how many people or things in our life also take away our focus?
Think about how many times you may have wanted to start something. You get all excited and then you lose focus. You get distracted. It could be because some other interest took it away or maybe someone discouraged you. Perhaps someone told you that you can't do it.

If you continually allow other people to hold you back, or you allow other things (TV, video games, going out partying, etc...) to distract you, then you will never achieve your fullest potential.

If you have something that needs to be accomplished and you are not completing it, then I recommend making a list of where your time is going. How much time are you devoting to different activities?
You may be surprised at the results.
Once you realize where all of your time is going you can start taking steps to correct it.

Until next time...

Sunday, August 1, 2010

The Little Things

Quote
"It's the little things you do that can make a big difference. What are you attempting to accomplish? What little thing can you do today that will make you more effective? You are probably only one step away from greatness."
-Bob Proctor

My Thoughts
You may think there is a huge gap that separates you from highly successful people. However, most times it's the little things that you do everyday that really add up in the long run. In Bob Proctor's book, "You Were Born Rich", he has a chapter dedicated to this topic called the razor's edge.

Here is an example to illustrate that point.
I believe that you only need to invest 15-30 minutes of your day reading about topics related to your field to really make you stand out. You may be thinking that sounds too simple. But think about it, if you read around 30 minutes a day that would be about 2-3 books per month. In one year, you would have read around 30 books related to your field. Remember though you want to actually comprehend what you are reading so don't try speeding through the books.

If you find yourself struggling with things like: finding a job, not getting promoted, not moving forward towards your goal, etc... ask "What could I do to improve this situation?". When you think of something that will help improve your situation you must take action on that idea.

Until next time...