Category: Goals/Purpose

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The Work Paradox: More Play, Less Pain

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“In a culture that sometimes equates work with suffering, it is revolutionary to suggest that the best inward sign of vocation is deep gladness—revolutionary but true.” ~ Parker Palmer, The Courage to Teach

People prefer leisure to work—no surprise there. What is surprising is that they report more optimal feelings of being “in the zone” when engaged in work.

This strange, yet revealing, paradox may explain why so many U.S. retirees experience depression and ultimately return to work.

While we clearly associate leisure with pleasure, we seem to have an unwarranted prejudice against work: We automatically associate it with pain. This belief is so deeply rooted that it distorts our perceptions of actual experiences. It’s a learned response that severely limits our potential for happiness at work.

To achieve professional satisfaction, you must experience—and consciously record—the positive emotions you feel on the job.

Finding Flow

Claremont Graduate University Professor Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi was one of the first psychologists to study the concept of “flow.”

Flow occurs when we are fully immersed in a task, enjoying ourselves while performing our best. It can happen anywhere, anytime. We experience it when we participate in sports and hobbies. More frequently, our flow experiences occur during periods of peak performance at work.

When we fail to recognize pleasurable moments at work, focusing solely on the negative, we miss out on experiencing more happiness and satisfaction. Each of us must find ways to extract more meaning and fulfillment from the “daily grind.”

It’s often a matter of reframing situations and changing the way we speak about our tasks and responsibilities. Other times, we can devise games and turn work into play. Some people find it helpful to ask a trusted peer to serve as an accountability partner, working toward concrete goals and milestones.

Action Steps

Reflection and action yield meaning and energy. Harvard University Continuing Education Professor Tal Ben-Shahar combines these two powerful learning tools into one concept: “ReflAction.”

In his excellent book, Even Happier: A Gratitude Journal for Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment, Dr. Ben-Shahar urges readers who seek happiness to record their experiences and ideas in a journal. In addition, work with an accountability partner to become more mindful of moments of gratitude.

Even Happier features numerous exercises that can be used in groups, book clubs, seminars or workplaces.

Lifelong Learning

The happiest, most successful people are lifelong learners, according to numerous research studies. Learners constantly ask questions and find a sense of wonder in the world.

Recall the wonder and enthusiasm you enjoyed at the beginning of your career. If you’ve lost some of the proverbial “lovin’ feeling” (and most people have), recapture it by initiating an education program of your choosing. Your program should include two categories:

1. Personal development

2. Professional enrichment

Commit to learning material that will benefit you currently and in the future. Be sure to allocate regular time in your schedule for continuing education.

If you don’t know where to start, pick up a copy of 25 Days to Better Thinking and Better Living: A Guide for Improving Every Aspect of Your Life, by Drs. Linda Elder and Richard Paul. Read one chapter each week as part of your personal-development commitment.

For professional enrichment, seek out a mentor you trust, and ask him/her to join you for lunch. You can also hire a coach to help you improve on the job or attend a seminar on the latest developments in your field.

Think about the relationships among all of these activities. What makes them enjoyable? Is there any overlap between the personal and professional? If so, can you identify a common theme in both “work” and “play” that you enjoy?

Making Work More Like Play

Thriving at work allows you to do so at home and at play. There’s really no need to separate the two worlds, according to neuroscientist and “play researcher” Stuart Brown, MD, who describes their strong correlation in his book Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination and Invigorates the Soul.

When you feel the temptation to complain about work, stop yourself. Rephrase what you were about to say by focusing on the more interesting parts of your day. Make an active effort to recognize and record the positive aspects of your job so you can experience more pleasure and flow.

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A Dashboard For Managing Complexity

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Businesses are becoming more complex. It’s harder to predict outcomes because intricate systems interact in unexpected ways.

Staying on track is much easier with a guide or checklist. Michael Useem, a professor at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and bestselling author of The Leadership Moment, has published The Leader’s Checklist to create a clear roadmap for navigating any situation. It is presented here in condensed form, with sample questions accompanying each principle:

  1. Articulate a Vision: Formulate a clear and persuasive vision, and communicate why it’s important to all members of the enterprise.
    • Do my direct reports see the forest, as well as the trees? 
    • Does everyone in the firm know not only where we are going, but, most importantly, why?
    • Is the destination compelling and appealing? 

  2. Think and Act Strategically: Make a practical plan for achieving this vision, including both short- and long-term strategies. Anticipate reactions and resistance before they happen by considering all stakeholders’ perspectives.  
    • Do we have a realistic plan for creating short-term results, as well as mapping out the future? 
    • Have we considered all stakeholders and anticipated objections? 
    • Has everyone bought into, and does everyone understand, the firm’s competitive strategy and value drivers? Can they explain it to others? 

  3. Express Confidence: Provide frequent feedback to express appreciation for the support of those who work with and for you. 
    • Do the people you work with know you respect and value their talents and efforts? 
    • Have you made it clear that their upward guidance is welcomed and sought? 
    • Is there a sense of engagement on the frontlines, with a minimum of “us” vs. “them” mentality? 

  4. Take Charge and Act Decisively: Embrace a bias for action by taking responsibility, even if it isn’t formally delegated. Make good and timely decisions, and ensure they are executed.  
    • Are you prepared to take charge, even when you are not in charge?
    • If so, do you have the capacity and position to embrace responsibility?
    • For technical decisions, are you ready to delegate, but not abdicate?
    • Are most of your decisions both good and timely?
    • Do you convey your strategic intent and then let others reach their own decisions? 

  5. Communicate Persuasively: Communicate in ways that people will not forget, through use of personal stories and examples that back up ideas. Simplicity and clarity are critical.
    • Are messages about vision, strategy and character crystal-clear and indelible?
    • Have you mobilized all communication channels, from purely personal to social media?
    • Can you deliver a compelling speech before the elevator passes the 10th floor?

  6. Motivate the Troops, and Honor the Front Lines: Appreciate the distinctive intentions that people bring to their work; build on diversity to bring out the best in people. Delegate authority except for strategic decisions. Stay close to those who are most directly engaged with the enterprise’s work.
    • Have you identified each person’s “hot button” and focused on it?
    • Do you work personal pride and shared purpose into most communications?
    • Are you keeping some ammunition dry for those urgent moments when you need it?
    • Have you made your intent clear and empowered those around you to act?
    • Do you regularly meet with those in direct contact with customers?
    • Can your people communicate their ideas and concerns to you?

  7. Build Leadership in Others, and Plan for Succession: Develop leadership throughout the organization, giving people opportunities to make decisions, manage others and obtain coaching.
    • Are all managers expected to build leadership among their subordinates?
    • Does the company culture foster the effective exercise of leadership?
    • Are leadership development opportunities available to most, if not all, managers?

  8. Manage Relations, and Identify Personal Implications: Build enduring personal ties with those who work with you, and engage the feelings and passions of the workplace. Help people appreciate the impact that the vision and strategy are likely to have on their own work and the firm’s future.
    • Is the hierarchy reduced to a minimum, and does bad news travel up?
    • Are managers self-aware and empathetic?
    • Are autocratic, egocentric and irritable behaviors censured?
    • Do employees appreciate how the firm’s vision and strategy affect them individually?
    • What private sacrifices will be necessary for achieving the common cause?
    • How will the plan affect people’s personal livelihood and the quality of their work lives?

  9. Convey Your Character: Through storytelling, gestures and genuine sharing, ensure that others appreciate that you are a person of integrity.
    • Have you communicated your commitment to performance with integrity?
    • Do others know you as a person? Do they know your aspirations and hopes?
       
  10. Dampen Over-Optimism: To balance the hubris of success, focus attention on latent threats and unresolved problems. Protect against managers’ tendency to engage in unwarranted risk.
    • Have you prepared the organization for unlikely, but extremely consequential, events?
    • Do you celebrate success, but also guard against the byproduct of excess confidence?
    • Have you paved the way not only for quarterly results, but for long-term performance?

  11. Build a Diverse Top Team: Although leaders take final responsibility, leadership is most effective when there is a team of capable people who can collectively work together to resolve key challenges. Diversity of thinking ensures better decisions.
    • Have you drawn quality performers into your inner circle?
    • Are they diverse in expertise, but united in purpose?
    • Are they as engaged and energized as you?

  12. Place Common Interest First: In setting strategy, communicating vision and reaching decisions, common purpose comes first and personal self-interest last.
    • In all decisions, have you placed shared purpose ahead of private gain?
    • Do the firm’s vision and strategy embody the organization’s mission?
    • Are you thinking like a president or chief executive, even if you are not one?

Not all of these questions are applicable to every situation, but it is the questioning that counts.

Whether you are facing a typical day at the office or walking into a crisis, ask yourself and others these questions to inspire correct actions. Only then can you make sense of the complexities you encounter.

 

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Two Distinct Minds

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We have two distinct minds—our conscious mind and our subconscious mind.

Most of us are very aware of our conscious mind because we “seem” to spend a great deal of time there. However, depending on which study you read, it has been proven that 60-95% of the decisions we make and the behaviors we exhibit are generated by our subconscious mind. Think about that staggering percentage and now think about your daily routine. When you got up this morning did you give any specific thought to the routine of getting ready and preparing for your day? Did you implement any step out of traditional order? If you took the kids to school or drove to work, did you drive the exact same route as yesterday? As you have continued through your day have you given any specific thought to breathing? There is always an exception to every rule, however, in most cases the answer to all these questions for many would be ‘no.’

As we live new experiences our subconscious mind very quickly stores data, creates neuro-pathways, and develops routines that allow us to easily duplicate an action or process in the future like driving to work and, yes, breathing. These pre-existing processes are convenient and even helpful. However, there are two questions I think are important to ponder.

  • Are you comfortable spending a significant portion of your life on autopilot?
  • How can you tap into the power of your subconscious mind to accomplish what is meaningful in your life?

 

Autopilot is fine for certain things like which to do first take a shower or have a cup of coffee. However, being on autopilot allows us not to be ‘present’ and provides for missed opportunities. How many opportunities have you missed with your family, your spouse, or at work to do, say, or be something better simply because you were on cruise control. Applied knowledge is power and understanding the power of our subconscious mind allows us to step out of autopilot and unleash our untapped potential. Do you really know what you want? Can you see it clearly in your mind down to the smallest detail? Have you written it down in a clear and concise manner? Do you know why you want it? Do you believe you can obtain it? Charles Simmons, author of Your Subconscious Power states, “Your subconscious thrives on knowledge. In dealing with a condition of life, whether it is a problem or an opportunity, consciously observe its traits. Then decide how you deal with the condition. Assign your knowledge, and your intention to act, to your subconscious. With its reserve of knowledge, your subconscious will then come to your aid.”

Tapping into the power of your subconscious mind can begin by committing to two things. First, deliberately focus your conscious action on positive and results-oriented action. Your subconscious will record these patterns which will help you maintain a positive attitude and focus even when life events take place that could take you off course. Second, change negative influences by deliberately cultivating positive habits that offset negative ones. You cannot erase a negative or bad habit; however, you can replace it with a new and positive influence by simply creating a new pattern your subconscious mind finds noteworthy and is worth repeating. Affirmations are a great system to help make these positive changes take place.

There are so many things in our environment that we cannot control nor influence. However, we have an incredible power source in the combination of our conscious and subconscious mind that is totally within our control. Take control of your destiny, your life, and your success by effectively using the power of your two distinct minds.

Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 30 years, RAC has specialized in business and management consulting, strategic planning, leadership development, executive coaching, and youth leadership. For more information visit http://www.resourceassociatescorp.com/ or contact RAC directly at 800.799.6227.

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The “I bought a boat” Theory of Taking Action One Step at a Time

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I once heard a terrific story that illustrates the power of taking action one step at a time.  It came from a general manager of a yacht sales dealer. His typical customer would purchase new yachts and other boats for $1 million dollars or more.

He tells the story this way:

One morning, several of the sales people were standing around, and they were having some fun razzing the newest sales person, a young woman who didn’t really fit the part of a wizened “boater” like most of them did.  Into the showroom walked a couple who also didn’t really fit the part – they weren’t dressed very nicely, and they appeared to be young and probably not quite ready for a $1 million dollar investment in a new yacht.  So, they all “offered” to have the newest sales person talk with the couple – since they didn’t think it would amount to anything.

After quite a while, it became obvious that the couple was serious, and that they planned to purchase a yacht that day.  However, the husband confessed that they hadn’t come prepared to purchase and didn’t have a credit card or much cash to make a down payment.   The new sales person, undaunted, asked them what they did have?  “We only have $100.”  So, the sales person took the cash, and shook their hands.  The couple left the showroom with a huge smile on their faces.

When the new sales person came back to the group of sales people, she was the laughingstock of the group.  The group exclaimed, “You took a $100 deposit on a $1 million dollar boat?  That’s ridiculous!”  But the general manager knew better. He celebrated the sale with the new sales person and responded back to the sales team with this (now famous) conclusion:

“You may think that they didn’t actually buy anything, and you are right that $100 isn’t much of a deposit on a $1 million new yacht.  BUT, what do you think is the first thing that couple did when they left the dealership? When they saw people they knew?  They said, “We bought a boat today.” Now they didn’t really buy a boat – they only put down a $100 deposit on that boat.   But once they told everybody they knew about that new yacht, do you really think they weren’t going to follow through on the rest of the sale?”

Since I first heard that story, I have reflected on the lessons from it many times.  Let’s see if you agree that these are the lessons learned from the “bought a boat” theory.

  • Any action taken towards a goal will get you a step closer to actually achieving the goal itself
  • Just START on your way to the goal – step by step, you’ll get there
  • Once you say your goal out loud to those around you, you are much more likely to follow through
  • Stating your goal as if you are already there, as in, “we bought a boat today” helps you to take action and keep moving toward your goal.  (Note: When was the last time you said your goal out loud as a way to keep yourself motivated?)
  • And, not everyone looks like they can purchase a $1 million dollar yacht, but looks can be deceiving!

What “boat” are you trying to buy? What goals are eluding you this year?  Make the commitment today to take a step – “buy that boat” – and then take another step tomorrow.  Step by step, you WILL get there.

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The Formula For Success

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STRIVING. PERFORMING. ACHIEVING. Those three words say a lot. When you STRIVE, you work hard and exert yourself, often against the tide of conventional opinion, competition, and your own complacency, doubts and fears. When you PERFORM, you are using your skills and abilities to do something…to execute and to get results. Ultimately, when you ACHIEVE, you are living a purposeful life. You reach a level of performance that is indicative of true success: you’re achieving your goals and dreams!

We understand that success is a journey and a way of living purposefully, not a destination. The foundation of our business coaching work is represented by The Formula for Success:

A ( S + K ) + G = PBC      IR (O, P)

Attitudes plus Skills & Knowledge directed by Goals delivers Positive Behavior Change which yields Improved Results, both Organizationally and Personally.

Let’s look at each component of the Formula, working from right to left…

IR

The first thing we look for is how our clients define success. We start out by asking what improved results (IR) our clients want to achieve in their organization or in their personal lives, and how that will be tracked and measured. The importance of a thoughtful definition of success is that it provides a target toward which everyone can aim. Everything else we do is specifically geared around achieving those results.

PBC

Wouldn’t you agree that if that target is different than where you are today, then you must do something (behave) differently to get there? PBC represents positive behavior change. A definition of insanity is doing the things you’ve always done, but expecting different outcomes.

G

G represents goals. Goals provide focus, otherwise there is no direction. Doesn’t it make sense that if people had goals on which to focus their energy, it would be easier to change their behavior in a way that can be sustained? Goal setting is the tool that generates the activity necessary to turn ideas into strategy, strategy into plans, and plans into reality.

S+K

S+K represent the necessary skills (the how to do something) and knowledge (the where and when to do something). Our process focuses on development of behavioral management skills, meaningful communications, influencing or selling skills, problem solving, decision making, organizing time, disciplining, developing subordinates, delegating authority, motivating others, appraising performance, etc. Everyone needs to be very competent in these areas, but especially in the workplace, where more than 50% of any manager’s job involves using these skills.

A

The A stands for attitude (the want to). Our coaching approach is based on a result-oriented philosophy that first involves developing a goal-oriented attitude among people. Attitude is more of a multiplier of skills and knowledge that will directly influence the goals they set and achieve. People will directly determine in many cases whether they turn a problem into an opportunity, or succumb to it; whether they behave in ways that benefit the entire organization or maintain fiefdoms; whether they expand the client base and services provided or allow atrophy to set in; and whether they diligently look for continuous improvement, or remain satisfied with the status quo.

The results we get depend upon our behavior and attitudes toward the people or events involved, and toward ourselves. If attitudes are basically negative, goals will be set low, and it will be difficult to progress. Growth and promotion will be all but impossible until a positive mindset is developed.

There are many ways and opportunities for individuals and organizations to better focus on results, attitudes and behaviors, skills and knowledge, goal setting and achievement. If you are interested in taking an important first step, let’s chat.

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How Do My Goals Contribute To The Strategy?

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Strategy and goals should influence everyone’s behavior in the organization!

The work at the top of the organization in creating strategy and goals is intended to influence behavior that drives results. Unfortunately, it’s not unusual for the primary impact of the work to remain at the senior management level. It’s kind of like having a car with an engine and no wheels. Despite the importance of driving the strategy and goals deeper into the organization, the messages as to how the strategy relates to execution typically become unclear and confusing the further down they go.

Passing goals down without creating meaning causes frustration…

The responsibility for creating clarity around what the strategy means at the business unit, team and individual levels, and for ensuring that the strategy is executed is a shared management responsibility.

There are many dynamics within fast paced changing organizations that contribute to the lack of alignment. However, the biggest obstacle appears to be “a lack of understanding.” Why is this? Repeating the company strategy is easy enough, but without translating strategy into relatable actions with those who are expected to execute at every level of the organization, has limited impact. When managers involve people and teams they lead in these discussions, SMART goals can be written that connect everyone’s contributions to the strategy. It also improves sustained commitment through the ability to measure ongoing results.

Planning backwards focuses on results…

Managers can facilitate the process by asking three questions:

  1. How does the strategy affect our unit?
  2. What must we accomplish?
  3. How will we accomplish it?

Through this process a shared language and framework for how to think and talk about alignment occurs among the team/department enabling them to match their behavior to a set of commonly understood goals and actions. To create focus on the truly critical goals to your team and the company, apply the following questions as a litmus test to each of the existing goals: 

  • What is its economic impact? – How will this goal contribute to company performance?
  • Is it aligned with the company’s strategy?
  • How will it satisfy stakeholders?
  • What is my level of passion, talent, and energy for it?
  • Do we have the resources? 

If people in the organization don’t understand how the company is supposed to be different and what opportunities they are to pursue, how can they make the tough choices that they have to make every day? (Porter, 1980)

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One 3-Letter Word You May Want to Rethink

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Let’s talk about a word we probably all use frequently—it’s a very powerful word, but not in the way you might think.   It’s the word TRY.  How often do we use that word in the context of something we are doing, a goal we are setting, an objective we are reaching for?  It’s hard to even write that last sentence without using “try,” as in “something we are trying to do, an objective we are trying to achieve.”

“Try” has become part of our vocabulary, but it limits our abilities to focus on a goal and commit completely to achieving something.   As a way to illustrate this, let’s do a quick activity.  If you are sitting down, stand up.  Are you standing?  Now … try to sit back down.  No, don’t sit down, TRY to sit down.  How did that work?  What do you notice?   The bottom line:  You can’t try to sit down – you either sit down or you don’t. 

Is that same principle not also true of goals or something we set our minds to – that we either do them or we don’t?  We either accomplish or don’t accomplish what we set out to do.  In a take-off from what Tom Hanks said in the movie League of Our Own,  “there’s no trying in life.”  (Well, he actually said, “there’s no crying in baseball,” but you get the point!)

The point is that you can’t try to achieve whatever you set out to achieve – ultimately, you either achieve it or you don’t.  Consider how often we either hear others say “try” or we say “try” ourselves.   How much more powerful and accomplished might we be if we took that pesky three-letter word out of our vocabulary?  Here are some examples across a wide spectrum of areas:

  • Your kids:  from “Yes, Mom, I’ll try to get my homework done before dinner,” … to … “Yes, Mom, I’ll get my homework done before dinner.”
  • In a meeting at your workplace:   from “I’ll try to talk with them about the project,” … to … “I’ll talk with them about the project.” 
  • With your wife/husband/significant other:  from “Let’s try to spend more time together on the weekends,” … to … “Let’s spend more time together on the weekends.” 
  • In your life:  from “I’m trying to exercise three times a week,” … to … “I am exercising three times a week.”

Do you notice the difference in how the statements above sound when the word try is in them or not in them? 

So, here is your challenge:   For the next week, don’t just try to do whatever you are focused on – do it without the “try” in your sentence.  Catch others in the act too – have them try to sit down to illustrate your point.  And as always, let me know how it goes!   

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DON’T Use Business Metrics…At Your Own Peril

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They say what you don’t know won’t hurt you, but nothing could be further from the truth when you run a small business. If you operate based on “gut instinct,” or you make assumptions on how your business is performing without knowing the facts, you can run into problems quickly. Fortunately, there is a simple solution. By monitoring a few key business metrics, you can quickly gain a handle on your business and start on the path to improving your profitability.

Business Metrics
Business metrics, or measurements of business activity, have long been seen as the exclusive tool of the pure number cruncher, the bookkeeper, and the statistician. That’s no longer the case. In today’s increasingly flooded marketplace, the mantra must be: “You can’t manage it if you can’t measure it.” By defining the metrics that are important to your business and monitoring them closely, you gain three key benefits:

– Focus. Defining the metrics that are most important to your business allows you to tune out everything that isn’t related to those key measurements. As a result, you’ll find that you and your business are much more efficient.

– Better Vision. Companies that monitor metrics can spot threats and opportunities faster than companies that don’t. Your metrics will give you keen insights into what’s happening within the four walls of your business as well as overall trends in your industry.

– Better Decisions. Metrics provide a framework for making business decisions. With the numbers in black and white, you can make well-reasoned decisions on how to proceed. If it improves your key metrics, consider it. If not, move on.

Implementing Metrics
Getting started with metrics is easier than you might think. Many small business owners don’t understand how simple it can be to collect and analyze these important numbers. A simple seven-step process gets you started.
1. Define Your Goals. Make a list of business goals. Goals might include sales objectives, target profit margins, or success at signing up new customers.
2. Define the Metrics. For each business goal on your list, write down a metric that will help you track your progress to success. For example, if your goal is signing up new customers, your metric might involve stating the number of meetings you will have per week with perspective customers.
3. Benchmark Current Status. Now that you established your metrics, you need to measure them. You must determine exactly how your business is doing, even if the truth is hard to swallow. By establishing the current value of each metric, you will be able to track your improvements in the future.
4. Put in Place a System to Monitor and Report Metrics. You may need to add new business processes that will help you calculate and report your metrics. For example, is the number of your customers who view your customer service as being “excellent,” then you may want to survey your customers every month and ask them how you are doing.
5. Communicate Metrics with Employees. Once you’ve defined the key metrics that are important to your business, be sure to let your staff know. Then, everyone can make decisions that help improve the metrics.
6. Review the Metrics and Make Decisions. With your metrics in place, you have greater insight into which strategies work and which don’t. Review the metrics and take steps to improve your results.
7. Promote Successes. When your metrics improve, let your staff know and reward everybody that helped make things better.

Effective use of business metrics can have a profound impact on your business. As you gain a better understanding of your business and move closer to achieving important goals, your day-to-day work will become easier and your staff will be more accountable to the metrics that matter. You’ll make better decisions, based on data, and you will have a powerful new tool for managing your business.

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The Biggest Killer of Business Growth

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Last week I asked a friend of mine about his business. He told me that he’d had a pretty good year so far but felt frustrated. For the third year in a row, he’s falling short of his annual goals but feels complacent since he’s still doing okay financially.  That complacency has lead to him making fewer calls, having fewer meetings and doing less business than he’d like.

What’s the biggest killer of business growth? It’s not lack of skills or talent; it’s not a poor business plan or even the economy.

The biggest killer of business growth is COMPLACENCY.

How do you know complacency is killing your business growth?

  • You know what to do to grow your business but, for some reason, you’re just not doing it.
  • You’ve lost the excitement you used to have for your business
  • You seem to constantly hit a plateau in your business but can’t get to that next level of growth
  • You set the same goals every month or every year without challenging yourself to get your business to the next level

The antidote for complacency is PASSION. Here are some steps that will help you to get passionate about your business again:

1. Create a 3-year vision for your life in the 6 areas of the life wheel below.

Don’t get too detailed. Spend about 90 minutes and create a compelling future by writing a paragraph or two for each area.

2. Rate yourself in each area. Where are you compared to your vision on a scale of to 100%? If you’re at 80% or above in each area, it’s time to create a new, more compelling vision.

3. Define 1-2 goals in each area that would get you closer to your vision. Goals should be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistically high and Time targeted).

4. Document your emotional “why” for the highest priority 2-3 goals on this list. Your “why” should include how your life will change if you accomplish the goal. What are the rewards of achieving the goal? What are the benefits of not achieving the goal?

5. Create a detailed plan for the top 2-3 goals. This plan should include specific action steps and target dates.

6. Read your 3-year vision daily to keep your excitement about the new, compelling future. Find other ways to keep the vision in front of you.

7. Update this vision annually.

8. Update your goals as needed.

Have you been complacent and found some ways to regain your passion? If so, I’d love to hear how you did it.

Are you complacent now? I’d love to hear how it’s impacting your business and/or what you plan on doing about it.

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Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway

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In Jack Canfield’s book, The Success Principles, he tells the story of a seminar where he held a $100 bill in the air and asked the audience, “Who wants this $100 bill?”

Almost everyone raised their hands, dozens of people shouted “I’ll take it!” and many more stood up and cheered. This went on for a while, but Jack just stood there and waited. Finally, someone ran up and took the $100 bill right out of his hands.  Everyone else wanted the money, but no one else had the guts to take the necessary action.

When Jack asked the audience why they didn’t do what the one lucky audience member did, most said they thought about it but didn’t have the guts to do it. Fear held them back. Some of the reasons they gave him were:

  • I was afraid I might be doing something wrong and then people would judge me or laugh at me
  • I wasn’t sure you’d really give it to me
  • I didn’t want to look greedy
  • I didn’t want to look like I wanted it that badly
  • I was too far back in the room
  • I was waiting for further instructions

What’s interesting is that these are the same fears that stop us from reaching our goals in our own lives. What actions should you be taking in your business or your life that you’re NOT because of fear? 

Let’s face it, there’s a lot to be fearful of these days.  Fear is natural. We all feel it. The difference between incredibly successful, fulfilled people and everyone else is how they react to that fear.  

Some respond to fear by worrying, stressing out, excessively planning every thought and action. The effect is paralysis in our business and our lives.  Often times, this paralysis causes our worst fears to come true. 

Others respond to fear by using it as motivation to take action. While many have the “ready, aim, fire” philosophy, some realize that the best way to hit a target is to fire first, see where the bullet lands, and then adjust your aim and fire again (ready, fire, aim). Very quickly, you’re hitting the target. 

A great way to think of fear is to use the acronym, False Expectations Appearing Real. What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail? 

Here’s an idea…

Set a goal to do one courageous thing every week. 

  • Call that prospect you’ve been afraid to call
  • Confront that co-worker you’ve been afraid to confront
  • Take a stand on an important issue
  • Start that new business you’ve been afraid to start
  • Start writing that book you’ve been meaning to write

Turn your fear into action by doing one courageous thing every week. You’ll be amazed at what your business and your life looks like at the end of the year.

What’s holding you back? What have you done to get through the fear? I’d love your comments.