One Reason Why You Continue to Fail

Legendary basketball Coach Bobby Knight said something to the effect of "Everybody's got the will to win, but it's only those with the will to prepare that actually do win."

Malcolm Gladwell in his book "Outliers" brought forth the fact that leaders and legends in their fields of endeavor simply out prepared their counter parts.  In short high achievers work, prepare and practice significantly more then under achievers.

What action will you take today that will prepare you for the success you are trying to achieve? I coach countless people on how to achieve more in their lives and business and it is early on that the lack of preparation for success is obvious. They simply are not doing anything on a regular basis that leads to success in the area they most want success.

Write your number one goal at the top of a spiral bound notebook today with 3 action steps you will take today to achieve this. Continue to do this each and every day and you will discover that more then 1000 action steps you will have taken a year from now. This daily exercise will have brought you towards that big goal. Maybe it takes 5 years and 5,000 action steps, but if that goal is a life changer every step is worth it.

This One Secret Will Get More Production From Your Employees and Costs Nothing

Everyone is trying to get the most out of people who work for them. I recently read where people in sales spend more then 1/3 of an 8 hour workday wasting time and being un-productive. How you can you get more from your staff? The secret is what you say to them. Do you encourage them?

I read in John Maxwell’s 25 Ways To Win With People that Psychologist Henry H. Goddard conducted a study on energy levels in children using an instrument called the “engograph.” His findings are fascinating as he learned that tired children when given a word of encouragement/ praise or commendation – the engrgraph would show an immediate surge of energy. What was also concluded was that when children received criticism or discouragement this same instrument showed their energy took an immediate nosedive.

What does it take to encourage? Nothing more then words that compliment, affirm someone’s good work or qualities or maybe a physical pat on the back with nothing more than “it is great having you here today”.  How expensive is the words “good job” or ‘that was great input”. Yes, these words cost nothing but gives energy and with energy more production and an atmosphere that creates group momentum.

We all know Henry Ford, but we may have never heard of him had it not been for the encouraging words of Thomas Edison, who when he heard of Ford’s plan to build a car with a gasoline engine remarked with enthusiasm while hitting his fists on a table in excitement. “You’ve got it. A car that has its own power plant; that’s a BRILLIANT idea.” Up to this point Ford had only been told it could not be done but the great inventor with his simple encouragement energized Henry Ford who would later remark, “I thought I had a good idea but started to doubt myself. Them came along one ofthe greatest minds that’s ever lived and gave me his complete approval.”

Let’s encourage TODAY!

I am average but rich and these 2 habits worked for me

We make getting rich way to hard. Forbes Magazine recently released its annual list of the “400 Wealthiest Americans.” It’s quite an impressive list. It takes a minimum of $1.1 billion in personal wealth to be included. Collectively, these 400 people have more than $1 trillion in total assets. But the most impressive thing about the list is that 70% of those on it created their own wealth. That’s right they started with nothing more than an idea that they took action on.

Ideas flow from input and silence. Input meaning what you are exposing your mind to. Are you reading great books, meeting new people with fresh views or taking classes that give greater knowledge?

Ideas grow out a stimulated mind. Your intuition or “still small voice” speaks and is heard in silence. When is your world silent? Set aside time daily to expose your mind to idea starters -then put you mind in a quite place so it can hear and respond.  Keep a journal where you write ideas down. These ideas if looked at often will grow with many sub points of support bringing the idea into reality. Sometimes the ideas will also just go away with no follow up insights which is also helpful.

Think 70% of America’s wealthiest people had an idea that they took action on. Yes the next step is action.  When a great idea has presented itself write it at the top of a sheet of paper then list everything that would have to take place for it to become a reality. You will find it typically shows many steps -but all doable. Good news, even if you don’t end up in the Forbes 400 ,you will be far ahead of where you are today.

GOOD IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH IN BUSINESS

Good is fools gold in business! It is the week before the Super Bowl, so I am being bombarded with feel good stories of the player and coaches for this weeks game. What is not getting the attention is how these team got to the Super Bowl. Both team’s coaches, at a pivotal point in the season, chose to be great and not settle for just being good. I watched the Baltimore Ravens lose to my beloved Redskins in overtime as a good team but not a great team. San Francisco too was a good team but with a couple losses their coach knew they were not great.

Jim Collin’s in his now legendary book Good To Great punctuates the importance of seeking to be great with his famous quote “Good is the Enemy of Great.”

Baltimore let go of their offensive coordinator late in the season to give the play calling duties Jim Caldwell a rare and un-heard of move. San Francisco benched their quarterback who was 3^rd in the NFL in passer rating but lacked the X Factor. Why did these coaches take this risk? They knew they had good team, play off team, but not great teams defined as a Super Bowl Championship Team.

Does your business settle for good but not great? Are their changes you know you need to be made but would be un-confortable? Letting go of an offensive coordinator who was your close friend and on your staff for years was uncomfortable for Ravens coach John Harbaugh but he wanted GREAT. His brother Jim, who coaches the 49ers had a veteran quarterback, who though sufficient, could not do the exceptional.

TAKEAWAY:          Do not settle for good.

Being Stupid is Unforgiveable

With today’s technology to be stupid just means you are lazy. Why do I say that?  I recently read that anyone who reads 2 books on a particular subject knows more on that subject then 95% of the worlds population. Wow 2 books and I am an expert! Don’t get me wrong your not a Malcolm Gladwell “Outlier” but indeed quite knowledgeable on a given subject.

Let me make it even easier for you, as being a voracious reader I still find that only 50% of every book I read has valuable content and I am being kind. So let me give you a secret to extracting the best from a book or specific subject. Google the book title and in many cases if it is well known Wikipedia will give you the outline with a brief overview of all the key points. Next you will more than likely find articles on the book from the author basically condensing the key points. If is is a subject, with one hour you can read at least 10 periodicals that relate to a specific subject you are seeking to grasp better.

So in conclusion make a list of 10 subjects that if you knew better would dramatically improve key areas of your life. Then take one day a week and commit to spending an hour researching and reading using the tips above. I also like to write my key points on a legal paper with the subject at the top. One hour later I have a greater grasp of the subject then 95%.

I hope this helps you as much as it has helped me other the years.

Take a Different Road Home

Change your scenery. What are looking at that's different? Are you meeting new people and places?
You learn very little when you don't expose yourself to new things. Commit to seeing something new every week. Maybe you read a blog.podcast or a book.

Change Your Paradigm

How do you view things? Your paradigm is you view, the picture you have painted of something.
It is from your paradigm that your attitude and behaviors will come from. If you believe you are successful you will act and carryout habits that you correlate with successful people. If you are negative and do not see yourself as successful your attitude and behavior will mirror this. This week just start asking yourself how you view things.
Yourself (self-image)
Others
Career/ Opportunities
Family/ Your Marriage/ Friendships
Your Dreams