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Motivation

Having The Worst Car in The Parking Lot

November 25, 2010

worst-car-in-the-parking-lot

To Get ahead, sometimes you have to have the worst car.

Let me take you back a few years…

I showed up for a meeting at a beautiful country club and realized as I pulled into the parking lot that I had the ugliest car there by far. I drove past dozens of luxury cars and finally fit my busted-up Alero in between a BMW and a Lamborghini. My first thoughts were, “Don’t scratch the paint.”

I felt like turning around and going home, but luckily, I sat there for a minute and had a conversation with myself.

I thought, “To be a failure, you hang around failures. To succeed, you need to associate with successful people.” I said to myself, “I’m here today to improve my financial success, so these are the people I need to meet.”

I’m forever grateful that I opened my car door and went inside that day.

My lesson learned was this:

Stay away from people who aren't getting the results you want. Instead, be around people headed in the direction you want to go (it’s best if they’re a little further along the road than you are).

In my case, I was looking at financial success, but this lesson translates nicely to other areas of life. If you want to be a good sales person, hang around good sales people. If you want to be a good parent, make friends with good parents.

The best way to learn new strategies is to have someone demonstrate the successful action, and then get them to observe you as it is copied. Repeat as required to make it a habit.

Filed Under: Motivation

Look at Failure Like a Trampoline

June 2, 2010

trampoline A lot of success is about perception. If you perceive failure as something that's a definite stopping point, you might feel like you've reached a bad place.

Here’s what I’d like you to do. Instead of looking at failure as the end of the road, look at it like a trampoline. 

Let me give you some ways to help you change your perception. Who knows, in the end you might even say that failure helped put the spring back in your step.

OK, so why a trampoline?

Ask yourself this question, “What happens when you fall off something high onto a trampoline?”  You bounce up, right? Well, yes and no.

You see, if you fall onto a trampoline and do nothing you'll bounce a few times, but the bounces quickly get smaller and smaller until you’re bounced-out and just standing there.

trampoline-jumpingIt’s easy to bounce-out when you're at the bottom because you've probably taken a hit to your confidence on the way down and are at a low in your self-confidence. 

Here’s how we’ll spin this to make failure easier. If you can teach yourself to put extra effort in and get prepared on the way down, when you hit the bottom good things will start to happen.

Obviously it makes sense that if you work hard and continue to work diligently that things will improve. That's the whole point. Finding a way to keep working to your fullest ability when life around you is going down the tubes is what will make you stand out.

If we look back at the trampoline example, I trust  you will agree that with only a moderate amount of effort at the bottom, you can end up bouncing back to where you started. If you put in a substantial amount of effort, there’s a good chance that you’ll bounce higher than when you started.

Lesson: It takes effort to make a substantial change.

How to focus your effort

When I was speaking one day, I asked the question, “Where will you be if you jump off your roof onto a trampoline?”  One guy yelled out, "In my neighbour's garden."

We had a good laugh, but it’s was true. You can put a lot of effort into your jump, but if you don’t have a clear direction for your efforts, you might end up somewhere you didn’t plan on.

In order to direct your efforts, simply sit down with a pen and paper and think of what you want out of your career or life. If you can clearly articulate what you want, you’ll have a better chance of getting it.

 Lesson: Clarify what you want. Be specific.

If your trampoline sucks, get a better trampoline

big-trampoline

The last thing you can do is start getting better feedback from your support system at the bottom. This means asking people who care about you to provide feedback that might be hard to hear.

If you have a coach, mentor or someone who is capable of providing coherent advice, I’d recommend asking for their feedback on the situation. Since they have an outside perspective, they will likely be able to give you useful advice.

Sit down with your mentor and ask the three specific questions below. If you don’t have someone to sit down with, just answer them yourself.

1. What exactly went wrong (be specific)?

2. Was it one problem, done multiple time, or a series of errors? If it was one problem, fixing it will solve most of your issues.

3. How can I change what I do so that this will not happen again?

Most times, it's a simple fix, but often, simple fixes can be hard to make.

Lesson: Don’t be afraid to change what’s not working. Look for someone to be  honest with you.

Trampoline-Style Failure Summary

1. It takes effort to make a substantial change.

2. Clarify what you want. Be specific.

3. Don’t be afraid to change what’s not working. Look for someone to be  honest with you.

When life throws you down, don’t forget to bounce back.

Filed Under: Motivation

3 Questions For Success at Any Job

May 12, 2010

Question 1 – Am I doing the right work?

question The first question to ask yourself when you want to succeed at something is whether or not you’re doing the right work. It’s great to be busy, but if you can’t focus in on the most important concepts of the job at hand,then you’re probably doing the wrong work. When the key tasks aren’t being done, then all the “work” you do doesn’t matter.

There are plenty of ways to figure out if you’re doing the right work, but I think the best way is to critically review the results you're getting. Ask yourself, “Am I getting the results I intended?” If so keep going. Otherwise, consider changing your methods, even if it seems tough at first.

Some jobs require you to work harder to be more successful, and other times you need to change your approach and do something new. In the end, it’s usually a combination of both.

Why not take a few minutes or even a few hours right now to plan your work. By taking time now, you won’t waste any more time wondering if you’re doing the right work or not. Taking time to think about how you can improve your job might also spark a new idea to simplify or improve one of your processes.

Question 2 – Am I doing enough work?

Just doing enough work to “get by” isn’t enough these days. You need to set a standard of going above and beyond what’s required of you.

The reality of the workforce today is that there is competition for good jobs. Doing an average amount of the work you’re told to do will probably be enough to keep you employed, but it won't get you promoted.

In order to get noticed, you need to deliver a level of service that’s beyond what anyone else expects (customers, superiors, your own personal expectations).

The problem with a lot of people today is that they do only the minimum amount of work on the important tasks but go above and beyond on the things that aren’t important. It’s important to first determine what the important skills are and then focus on doing those skills incredibly well.

Of course, there’s a catch to this. The most important skills in your job are probably ones that most people find boring. If you think about it, that’s actually good news. When you get known for exceeding in the tasks that critical to the success of the business, you’ll really stand out from the crowd.

Question 3 – Am I doing exceptional work?

diamond The last question is pretty self explanatory. “Am I doing exceptional work?”

You might be doing the right type of work, and you might be doing a lot of that work, but if the quality is only average, you’re not going to get ahead. If you're not sure if the work that you do is good, ask your customers or boss. If one of your customers is willing to refer a friend to you, that’s an indicator of a good job.

The bottom line is that exceptional people, do exceptional work.

By continually enhancing your skills, there’s no limit to where you can go. The more you stand out, the faster you can move on to bigger and better things.

Filed Under: Motivation

Do You Blame Others or Yourself When Things Go Wrong?

March 23, 2010

As humans, we often take trivial matters and try to make them absolute. If you take a good look at your life and the choices you make, I bet you’d agree that there aren’t many decisions that are always 100% yes or 100% no.

BlackandWhite

People often choose one of two camps to be in, when something bad happens in their life.

Passing the blame and perfectionism

One type of person passes blame on to others. These people never admit to doing anything wrong and often consider themselves perfectionists. They couldn’t possibly have caused any problems.  Perfectionists have the problem of being disappointed most the time, because nothing in life is perfect, or they push people away, because they blame someone else for where they are in life.

Poor me thinking

The other type of person is one who blames everything on himself or herself.  If somebody else does something bad, our friend will apologize.  Why?  It’s because they are displaying their way of getting power – gaining attention with self-blame.  Think about the following conversation.

Jane: It looks like we lost the Johnson account.

John: I knew I should have worked harder on my part.  It’s all my fault.

Jane: Oh no, you’re so smart, and hard working, and dedicated.  It wasn’t you.

John: Nah, I’m just stupid.

Everyone is a bit of both personalities

Both of these personalities are based on faulty assumption. Most people have a little bit of both of these personalities. Some more on one side than the other. The key to happiness is to focus on the greyscale in between. By taking full responsibility for everything that you can, you empower yourself to correct flaws in your character. The key is to not take on the burden of responsibility for things you can't control. Thinking you’re  responsible for events you can't control will undermine you success and hold you back from being as happy as you deserve to be. If you can look at a situation, take ownership where  possible, and not worry about the things you can't control, you will end up with a happier more successful life.

Filed Under: Motivation

Inspirational Sports Videos

May 1, 2009

image How my roommate got motivated

I used to have a roommate who would watch a Larry Bird tribute video before every Basketball game.  Larry Bird is one of the greatest basketball players of all time, so my roommate would use it to get himself pumped up.  He swore that this ritual helped him score more and play better.

I have to agree.  I really believe that watching inspirational videos is one of the best ways to improve your mood.  The only catch is that every person is different, so a video that inspires one person, may do nothing for another.  This means that everyone needs to create their own video list.

Here’s the second instalment in my Inspirational video series.  You can check out the first list here.  Today we focus on inspirational sports videos.  Feel free to send me your suggestions.

Here’s the list

Hoosiers – Hoosiers is a great sports movie; probably my favourite.
I couldn't find the clip I was looking for.  It's where the players first walk into the stadium for the final game and are in awe of the building.  The coach (Gene Hackman) pulls out a tape measure and proves that the court is the same size as in their small gym at home.  If anyone finds it, let me know.  The video I’ve included here is also very good.

image Team Hoyt – A parent will do anything to see their child’s dreams become reality.
Team Hoyt is well know in the running community.  The video shows the father/son running team.  Very moving.

“The Crawl” – 1997 Ironman
If there was a video in the dictionary under perseverance, this might be it.

Al Pacino – Any Given Sunday
Life's a game of inches speech.

Michael Jordan – Nike Video on Failure

Death Crawl – Facing The Giants
Focus on the next step.

Rendezvous in Paris
A race car driver, with a Ferrari, driving hard through Paris in the early morning.

Filed Under: Motivation

Make an Inspirational Video List

April 24, 2009

Videos are incredibly powerful motivational tools.  The combination of audio and video can be very effective at moving you to action.  That’s good, since one of the biggest problems in life is just getting started.

I suggest you make a list of some inspirational clips and bookmark them.  Then, when you need a little pick me up, go and watch a couple of your favourites to help you get back on track.

Just remember, no sitting at home surfing YouTube all day.  Watch 1 or 2 videos and then get busy.

A few videos to get your list started

Lost Generation
I think this is one of the best videos on YouTube right now.  The twist comes about half way through.

Sad Insurance Commercial
A really sad commercial that will hopefully inspire you to think about the people you love.  I bet it’ll make you cry.

Randy Pausch – Last Lecture, Achieving Your Childhood Dreams
A moving lecture on his childhood dreams.  He delivered it knowing that he had incurable cancer.  Randy Pausch faced every day with an amazing attitude.  The video was shot in September 2007.  He passed away in July 2008.

Nick Vujicic – How To Get Up
Great speaker, very inspiring.

Susan Boyle – Brittain's Got Talent (2009)
The internet phenomenon of Susan Boyle.

Paul Potts – Brittain's Got Talent (2007)
Do you remember Paul Potts?  This was a shocker too.  I think videos like this give hope to the average person.

Free Hugs Campaign
A guy out trying to change the world, one hug at a time.

You Want Something.  Go get it. – Pursuit of Happiness
Nice scene from The Pursuit of Happiness movie.

Famous Failures
If you've never failed, you've never lived.

40 Inspiring Speeches in 2 minutes
Cute collection of a number of well know movie speeches.

Incredible Brick Balancing Act
This isn't really an inspirational video per se, but watching it reminds me that we as humans can do amazing things if we just put our mind to it.  It works for me, and that’s the point.  Make your list unique.

Which videos have inspired you?  Add your favourites to the comments.

Filed Under: Motivation

Use Mini Celebrations for Maximum Achievement

November 25, 2008

Try a Mini Celebration What is a Mini Celebration?

I had someone share this exercise with me and it works great.  I encourage you to add some Mini Celebrations to your daily routine.  The idea behind a Mini Celebration is easy.  Whenever you accomplish something during the day, whether it's a closed a sale or completed a task, take one minute to celebrate that achievement.  The effects are unbelievable.

Break the 1 minute up into 2 parts:

  1. Spend 30 seconds giving yourself credit for accomplishing the task. Describe all the great things you did to hit your goal.  Be specific and energetic.
  2. Spend 30 seconds praising yourself for being a great person. Tell yourself that you are a great, worthwhile person.

Say the words for better results

I recommend doing this out loud as it will get you to use more parts of your brain, but you can do it quietly to yourself if you are around people.   You may decide you are too embarrassed to say good things about yourself.  Remember:

If you can't convince yourself you're a good person, why should anyone else believe it.

 

Watch out for negative thoughts

When you first start doing this exercise, you might find that negative thoughts begin to take over.  Ignore them during this minute.    Negative thoughts usually start with, “Yeah…but….”  The more you perform this exercise, the more you will believe in yourself and the more you will accomplish.

Why this works

You become the person you think about most of the time.  By thinking of yourself as a person who takes action and gets things done, you will soon start acting like it.  It's good to praise all achievements at first.  As you go along, I hope that as your confidence rises, so will your goals.

Try it.  I guarantee this one simple exercise will help fuel you to great success in life.

Filed Under: Motivation

5 Steps to Make Your Dreams a Reality

February 27, 2008

5 Steps to Make Your Dream a Reality I want to follow up on my last post about realizing dreams. In order to achieve your dreams, you must set goals. Goals are like dreams, but they include a roadmap to help you plan for success and overcome any obstacles along the way.

Here are 5 steps to help make your dreams a reality:

  1. Write out your dreams on paper: Don’t worry if they're not perfect. Just write out anything that comes to mind. The first five or ten goals will probably be the most important, but sometimes, it takes a few minutes of thinking to figure out what your really want. Ask yourself some questions to get the creative juices flowing. What do I want to have in the future? How much money do I want? What about family, work, travel, health?
  2. Make a plan to reach your dreams: You do this by setting goals. Choose a few of the dreams from your list and write them on a separate piece of paper. Then, write out a list of all the things you need to do in order to achieve your goal.
  3. What’s important?: Rank the activities in order of importance. What absolutely needs to be done first for you to meet your goal? What needs to be done second? Continue this process until you have listed all of your tasks.
  4. “Right-size” – Break down the tasks into small activities that will take you 10 – 30 minutes to complete.
  5. Start – Work wholeheartedly on the first activity from your list until you finish it. Once you're done, move on point two. Keep picking away at the activities until they're all complete. This is the hardest stage, but once you start you'll begin to build momentum.

Most people never succeed in life because they do the things they WANT to do, not the things they NEED to do.

Anybody can do the fun things in life, but it’s the successful people who do the nasty little tasks that everyone else hates. Before you start any task, ask yourself one question. “Will this task help me reach my goal?” If the answer is yes, keep going. If the answer is no, stop what you're doing and start a better activity. By asking this question first, you will begin working on higher priority activities instead of just killing time.

Filed Under: Motivation

You can Achieve any Dream

February 25, 2008

Achieve any goal

You can achieve virtually any dream in life, no matter how big. It’s not even that hard….well, it’s not very hard if you have a dream you really want to achieve. The key to fulfilling your dreams is learning how to take an intangible thought and make it real.

How do you do that? You guessed it. You make dreams real by first setting goals, and then working diligently to achieve them. Well thought out goals can take an average person from the poor house to the penthouse.

…when you see progress, you achieve

Achieving goals is easy. The key is to break things down into smaller, more manageable bits. Then you take action and complete those smaller pieces. Pretty soon the little bits add up to noticeable progress. When you see progress you will continue to work at the goals, giving you even greater success.

The most common error in goal setting is making a goal too big. A huge goal is usually too big to wrap your head around. You might not know where to start. That leads to neglect, which eventually leads to failure. When you have a dream that you want to materialize, remember to keep it simple. It’s like the old saying goes. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time!

Filed Under: Motivation

6,000 Examples of Enduring Love

February 23, 2008

Top 10 Love Story from China

Have you ever dreamt of being involved in one of the greatest love stories of all time? According to the Chinese Women Weekly, a man who passed away in December was involved in one China’s top 10 love stories.

His name was Liu Guojiang and his story is great because of forbidden love. He was young, but married a widowed mother who was older than he was. The pair was forced to move away to the seclusion of a mountain and it was there that Liu Guojiang hand carved more than 6,000 steps into the rock so that his dear wife would be able to easily make her way up and down the mountainside.

UPDATE: The original link I had included in this video stopped working. I've substituted in a new video talking about their story.

YouTube Link

Filed Under: Motivation

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