Make 2008 Remarkable

In the last few posts Coaches Bob Roberts and Ralph Berge have talked about the importance of setting a plan for 2008 and changing your perspective to make it a great year. Taking time to plan for your success and think about new ways to approach your business is great advice. We seldom take the time to plan and startegize that we should.

I'd like to add to their list the need to change your beliefs or at least understand your beliefs so you know how they impact you. Making 2008 a remarkable year may, if fact I would bet it will, be determined to a large extent by your beliefs. What do you believe about your business, about the economy, about the competition, about your team...and most importantly about YOU?

As you go through your plan for this year ask yourself a series of questions about your beliefs on each of these areas. Add in some thoughts about your beliefs on your product(s), your service, your ability to accomplish your goals and your beliefs about why your business is where it is at today. Or where you are in your career if you don't own the business. What you tell yourself about each of these areas will have a direct impact on the results you get.

You can create a great plan and begin to think about what you need to do to meet your goals but, if you don't believe the plan is achievable or that the goals are just not realistic then guess what...you are not going to succeed. You have to believe that you will do what it takes to achieve and even exceed the goals and then don't stop until you do it. How much time have you put in your calendar this year to read books or information from business experts? How much time and money have you allocated to attending training or workshops to learn and grow? How much have you committed to networking or meeting other people you can learn from?

A great plan isn't just about the numbers or the tactics you will employ. To make it a truly remarkable year work on YOU harder than you work on your business. That means working on your skills, your knowledge and your beliefs. At ActionCOACH we like to tell our clients that where you are a year from now will depend to a large extent on the books you read, the people you meet and the action you take! And we absolutley believe that!

Make 2008 a remarkable year!

Another Perspective Post...

In an earlier post Dennis commented on "perspective" and how the view we take makes a dramatic difference in the decisions we make about our business, our life, our daily activities.

Here is some information you may have heard via the media recently:

- Unemployment grew to 4.7%.

- The economy's growth was downgraded 2.1% in the fourth quarter due to the credit crunch.

- The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the week at 13, 371, a drop from its quarterly high of over 14, 000.

Here's that same information presented in a different way. I think you will get my drift about how our perspective changes our view when we look at the same data differently. Here we go...

- Employment figures for the U.S. changed slightly last month: Currently 95.3% of eligible workers are gainfully employed.

- The forecast for the national economy indicates that it will continue to grow at a 1.9% rate in the fourth quarter of 2007 with expectations that growth will continue at about a 2.3% rate in 2008.

- The stock market last week maintained its 8.5% annual growth for 2007 , with the Dow Jones average ending the week at 13, 371.

What is your perspective? Are you planning, preparing, seeking success or "waiting for the shoe to drop"?

Think about your perspective today - and change it if it is directed toward the negative.

Do You Love What You Do?

Recently I have had the opportunity to speak with different groups about the concept of finding your true passion in business. The idea that what you do is what you love to do. Knowing yourself, finding your true purpose in life, is the essence of true and real. You have to be, before you do, to have lasting inner peace. In other words, making a living is not the same as making a life. Find what makes your heart sing and create your own music.

Many people work all their lives and dislike what they do for a living. In fact, I was astounded to see a recent USA Today survey that said 53 percent of people in the American workplace are unhappy with their jobs. Loving what you do is one of the most important keys to living a “true and real” life.

You can’t fake passion. It is the fuel that drives any dream and makes you happy to be alive. However, the first step to loving what you do is to self-analyze, to simply know what you love. We all have unique talents and interests, and one of life’s greatest challenges is to match these talents with career opportunities that bring out the best in us. It’s not easy – and sometimes we can only find it through trial and error – but it’s worth the effort.

Ray Kroc, for example, found his passion when he founded McDonald’s at the age of 52. He never “worked” another day of his life.

John James Audubon was unsuccessful for most of his life. He was a terrible businessman. No matter how many times he changed locations, changed partners, or changed businesses, he still failed miserably. Not until he understood that he must change himself did he have any shot at success.

And what changes did Audubon make? He followed his passion. He had always loved the outdoors and was an excellent hunter. In addition, he was a good artist and, as a hobby, would draw local birds.

Once he stopped trying to be a businessman and started doing what he loved to do, his life turned around. He traveled the country observing and drawing birds, and his art ultimately was collected in a book titled Audubon’s Birds of America. The book earned him a place in history as the greatest wildlife artist ever. But more importantly, the work made him happy and provided the peace of mind he’d been seeking all his life.

Can you say the same about what you are doing today? Do you get out of bed every day looking forward to your job or to running your business? You may love the work you do but maybe struggle with some of the challenges you are presented with. Don't give up on what you love...find a way to get the support you need to find your sense of fulfillment. Of course, if you're not doing what you love then it is time for some self reflection and maybe a change.

It's all about Perspective

Check out this interesting poem that was sent to me by a friend in Australia, hence some of the "mis-spellings." ;-)

Have you ever been in a position like this?

The Cookie Thief

--Valerie Cox

A woman was waiting at an airport one night,
With several long hours before her next flight,

She hunted for a book in the airport shop,
Bought a bag of cookies, and found a place to drop.

She was engrossed in her book, but happened to see,
That the man beside her, as bold as could be,

Grabbed a cookie or two, from the bag in between,
Which she tried to ignore, to avoid a scene.

She munched cookies, and watched the clock,
As this gutsy cookie thief, diminished her stock.

She was getting more irritated, as the minutes ticked by,
Thinking, if I wasn’t so nice, I’d blacken his eye.

With each cookie she took, he took one too,
When only one was left, she wondered what he’d do.

And with a smile on his face, and a nervous laugh,
He took the last cookie, and broke it in half.

He offered her half, as he ate the other,
She snatched it from him, and thought, Oh brother.

This guy has some nerve, and he’s also so rude,
Why he didn’t even show any gratitude.

She had never known when she’d been so galled,
And sighed with relief when her flight was called.

She gathered her belongings and headed to the gate,
Refusing to look back at the thieving in-grate.

She boarded the plane and sank in her seat,
Then sought her book, which was almost complete,

As she reached in her baggage, she gasped in surprise,
There was her bag of cookies, in front of her eyes.

If mine are here, she moaned with despair,
Then the others were his, and he tried to share.

Too late to apologise, she realized with grief,
"I was the rude one, the in-grate, the thief."