ARTICLES
Written By Rich For You.
Be Like Jack LaLanne.
I grew up with Jack LaLanne. I used to watch him, his wife Elaine, and his dog every morning on TV. Jack taught me a lot of things about life — especially to stay positive all the time. Why be like Jack? You might know him from his juicer — but he was so much more.
I grew up with Jack LaLanne. I used to watch him, his wife Elaine (yes, Elaine LaLanne), and his German shepherd Happy every morning on TV. Jack taught me a lot of things about life — especially to stay positive all the time.
Why be like Jack? You might know him from his juicer — but he was so much more.
1. Make a bold change.
At 15, he was a wreck — sickly, skinny, and eating all the wrong foods. He realized it was a dead-end and radically changed his diet, behavior, and focus. Where can you make a bold change in your life?
2. Break the mold.
Up until Jack LaLanne, gyms were for men who wanted to box or wrestle. Jack opened the prototype for the fitness spas to come — a gym, juice bar, and health food store. What antiquated molds need breaking?
3. Keep true to your vision (and yourself).
Jack said, “People thought I was a charlatan and a nut. The doctors were against me — they said that working out with weights would give people heart attacks and they would lose their sex drive.” Never ask permission - get out and do it.
4. Think BIG.
Jack then took his idea national — “The Jack LaLanne Show” made its debut in 1951 as a local program in the San Francisco area, then went nationwide on daytime television in 1959. Pick a big dream and take one step closer to it today.
5. Speak to your audience — all the time.
“My show was so personal, I made it feel like you and I were the only ones there. And I’d say: ‘Boys and girls, come here. Uncle Jack wants to tell you something. You go get Mother or Daddy, Grandmother, Grandfather, whoever is in the house. You go get them, and you make sure they exercise with me.’ ” Learn how to better communicate to key people.
6. Keep it simple.
Most of his exercises on TV were done with a chair or broomstick. Don’t over-complexify your life - simplify!
7. Keep fresh with new ideas and offerings.
He invented the forerunners of modern exercise machines like leg extension and pulley devices. He marketed a Power Juicer to blend raw vegetables and fruits and a Glamour Stretcher cord, and he sold exercise videos and fitness books. When was the last time you read a good book?
8. Know when to get out.
Expanding on his television popularity, he opened dozens of fitness studios under his name, later licensing them to Bally. If it isn’t working for you - run away.
9. Be a showoff.
At 60 he swam from Alcatraz Island to Fisherman’s Wharf handcuffed, shackled, and towing a 1,000-pound boat. At 70, handcuffed and shackled again, he towed 70 boats, carrying a total of 70 people, a mile and a half through Long Beach Harbor. Be assertive in all that you do.
10. Walk the talk.
He ate two meals a day and shunned snacks. Breakfast, following his morning workout, usually included several hard-boiled egg whites, a cup of broth, oatmeal with soy milk, and seasonal fruit. For dinner, a salad with raw vegetables and egg whites along with fish — often salmon — and a mixture of red and white wine. He never drank coffee. Be authentic to everyone you meet.
11. Stay positive — all the time.
He brimmed with optimism and restated a host of aphorisms for an active and fit life. “I can’t die,” he most famously liked to say. “It would ruin my image.” SMILE!
Jack passed away 10 years ago at the ripe old age of 96. He brought a lot of energy, motivation, and happiness to millions of people. I hope someday, I can do that too.
Top Five Regrets of the Dying.
When questioned about any regrets they had or anything they would do differently, common themes surfaced again and again. Here are the most common five.
I've just finished one of the most powerful books I've read this year. It's by a wonderful woman named Bronnie Ware, and it focuses in on the actual voiced regrets of people she encountered when they were dying. Powerful stuff - go and pick up the book!
Here's a small excerpt:
For many years I worked in palliative care. My patients were those who had gone home to die. Some incredibly special times were shared. I was with them for the last three to twelve weeks of their lives.
People grow a lot when they are faced with their own mortality. I learnt never to underestimate someone's capacity for growth. Some changes were phenomenal. Each experienced a variety of emotions, as expected, denial, fear, anger, remorse, more denial and eventually acceptance. Every single patient found their peace before they departed though, every one of them.
When questioned about any regrets they had or anything they would do differently, common themes surfaced again and again. Here are the most common five:
1. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
This was the most common regret of all. When people realise that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people had not honoured even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made.
It is very important to try and honour at least some of your dreams along the way. From the moment that you lose your health, it is too late. Health brings a freedom very few realise, until they no longer have it.
2. I wish I didn't work so hard.
This came from every male patient that I nursed. They missed their children's youth and their partner's companionship. Women also spoke of this regret. But as most were from an older generation, many of the female patients had not been breadwinners. All of the men I nursed deeply regretted spending so much of their lives on the treadmill of a work existence.
By simplifying your lifestyle and making conscious choices along the way, it is possible to not need the income that you think you do. And by creating more space in your life, you become happier and more open to new opportunities, ones more suited to your new lifestyle.
3. I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings.
Many people suppressed their feelings in order to keep peace with others. As a result, they settled for a mediocre existence and never became who they were truly capable of becoming. Many developed illnesses relating to the bitterness and resentment they carried as a result.
We cannot control the reactions of others. However, although people may initially react when you change the way you are by speaking honestly, in the end it raises the relationship to a whole new and healthier level. Either that or it releases the unhealthy relationship from your life. Either way, you win.
4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
Often they would not truly realise the full benefits of old friends until their dying weeks and it was not always possible to track them down. Many had become so caught up in their own lives that they had let golden friendships slip by over the years. There were many deep regrets about not giving friendships the time and effort that they deserved. Everyone misses their friends when they are dying.
It is common for anyone in a busy lifestyle to let friendships slip. But when you are faced with your approaching death, the physical details of life fall away. People do want to get their financial affairs in order if possible. But it is not money or status that holds the true importance for them. They want to get things in order more for the benefit of those they love. Usually though, they are too ill and weary to ever manage this task. It is all comes down to love and relationships in the end. That is all that remains in the final weeks, love and relationships.
5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.
This is a surprisingly common one. Many did not realise until the end that happiness is a choice. They had stayed stuck in old patterns and habits. The so-called 'comfort' of familiarity overflowed into their emotions, as well as their physical lives. Fear of change had them pretending to others, and to their selves, that they were content. When deep within, they longed to laugh properly and have silliness in their life again.
When you are on your deathbed, what others think of you is a long way from your mind. How wonderful to be able to let go and smile again, long before you are dying.
Life is a choice. It is YOUR life. Choose consciously, choose wisely, choose honestly. Choose happiness.
To Succeed, You Have To Hustle.
Are You A Pilot Or Passenger In Your Career?
Stop being the victim. Start taking control of your life and career. I want you to do one thing today that scares you.
Are You A Pilot Or Passenger In Your Career?
If you hit a crisis or something goes wrong, it's someone else's fault. We are the victim.
That isn't the case. Stop being the victim. Start taking control of your life and career. Turn off your career ‘cruise control’ and direct your life.
CHALLENGE #1:
I want you to do one thing today that scares you.
Pick up that phone right now and make that call you’ve been procrastinating on. Check out that company you've always dreamed to work for. Arrive at work extra-early and get more done in one day than you've ever done before. Push yourself farther and scare yourself in the process. You'll thank me.
If you're doing it the same way other people are doing it, you're doing it wrong. That’s usually the ‘safe’ or 'old’ way of doing it.
Be brave and do something completely different. Be creative and take a risk — reach out to people and try something new. Don't care about what other people think — that will just hold you back. Ask for forgiveness, not permission.
CHALLENGE #2:
Take a moment and think of one simple, crazy change you can make.
Design a new business card, reach out to that senior VP or business owner who is doing cool stuff that amazes you. Ask them to lunch. Test a new way of running your project — put it on an express train and beat that deadline.
I hate the word inspiration. Inspiration is for amateurs. The rest of us just show up and get to work. Don't wait for that bolt of lightning to hit your brain. Do it NOW.
The best ideas come from doing and working the process. It comes out of actually accomplishing the work. It’s time to get your hands really dirty.
CHALLENGE #3:
Stop waiting for that 'inspirational' idea to jump out and land on a blank sheet of paper.
If it hasn’t happen yet, it’s never going to happen. Dig into work this week and see where you can streamline a process, delegate a lame task, or discard an outmoded activity. Get rid of them.
Work smarter, not harder. You will suddenly see new ways of doing things better, stronger, faster (like the Six-Million Dollar Man). Stop meandering along doing the same old thing the same old way.
Hustle this week. You'll thank me.
Top 10 Clear Signs It's Time To Quit Your Job.
Here's my Top 10 (in no real order of importance) list why you should probably quit your current position and move on . . .
Here's my Top 10 (in no real order of importance) list why you should probably quit your current position and move on:
You start looking forward to the weekend on Wednesday (or even worse, Monday). This is the typical, "I can't stand my job and I love my weekends behavior". Face it, you are going to spend a LOT more time at work during the week — start enjoying that environment too. If you don't like what you do, your boss, the people, the commute, etc. — change it.
Sunday night is the loneliest time of the week because you have work the next day. If you hate going to work where it begins to affect your weekends, it's time to start looking for greener pastures.
You find yourself mired in mundane tasks at work - you're not working on exciting and challenging projects. It happens to the best of us — sometimes we need a career 'reset' button to help us re-focus on what's really important and where we want to take our career.
Everything is becoming SOS - same old stuff - day in, day out repetition. If you're just wrapping the same old chocolates every day — it's time to go.
You never ask for guidance or advice anymore from your boss. You've grown out of your role. This is a telling sign — you've outgrown your manager. They don't have anything else to teach you — and to be successful, you have to keep learning.
Everyone around you is as unmotivated and depressed as you are. Oh-Oh — either management is not doing their job or the company is ailing. Time to look for healthier stock.
Your superiors begin to take long lunches and start to leave the company. They know something you don't know. That's a clear sign you're about to be acquired, broken into small chunks, or obliterated into the atmosphere. Start planning your exit strategy.
Sales are down, the company hasn't rolled out anything new in the marketplace for a long time, and your competitors are hitting new heights. Things might turn around, but then, they might not. It's up to you if you have the time, temerity and patience to wait.
You can't get anything accomplished, projects are never approved (or cancelled mid-term), or your division is distracted by crazy hail-mary launches that never work. That is one of the most frustrating parts of corporate work — the lost years — the lost projects — and eventually, the lost people. If you find you're giving 150% to all of your work and for some reason, they're cancelled, postponed, or put on the shelf, it's time to step back and assess. Not only does it suck, but it cuts right to the bone of any performing professional to see your blood, sweat and tears wiped away in a matter of minutes. Time to go.
Things don't feel right - your salary has been stagnant for years, bonuses are anemic, and you find yourself surfing a lot on the web. Any one of these three are a clear indicator of a bad work situation. If you get more than one, start polishing your résumé.
Extra-Credit: Upper management employs a 'consultancy firm' to help them turn the ship in the right direction - always a clear signal something's wrong.
Most consultancy firms are brought in when management is either disconnected from the business or they are unable to develop a new business solution on their own. In my opinion, these consultancies are usually a band-aid for a more severe problem — they're brought in to calm the fears of investors and show Wall Street that the company is on-track to hit their fake targets.
In any event, there will be changes. Either The Bob's (watch this scene from Office Space) will come in and assess everyone's responsibilities and/or they will make broad spectrum changes that will probably impact your progress. Time to review your options and think about leaving.
You're Going To HATE What I Have To Say.
"I'm Going To Change Your Life In One Easy Step!" I get emails like this all the time. Personalities who say they will radically change your life instantly. All you have to do is believe (and spend $195, $795, 0r $8995) and you will get the secret to the riches of the universe without lifting a finger.
I just received another one today: "Rewire your mindset to become unbeatable!" "Grow your financial fortune!" "Get ultra-fit and feel better than ever before!" "Achieve all the goals you never could achieve before!"
It's magic! And if you send them your money, they will change your life! Of course, they are highly successful, jetting around the world, filming videos in really cool places. So they must know the secret!
I get together with a number of high-level coaches each month and we are a bit perplexed with the success of these people who sell 21st century snake oil. Don't people get it? Here are some immutable rules of life:
- Change doesn't happen overnight. It took you a long time to get where you are and it will take a little bit of determined work to get you where you want to be. Yes, you can 'change your mindset' — but the journey will be long, hard, and you will have to gird yourself against falling back into old routines.
- You won't make seven figures right out of the gate. Unless you have a foolproof hair-growth formula (I'll buy it), incremental gains will only occur if you make the right decisions, at the right time, and deliver a powerful product/service that a lot of people see and want to buy.
- You won't look like Ryan Gosling instantly. I don't know what 'ultra-fit' means, but after speaking with my personal trainer, it takes months/years to get (and stay) 'ultra-fit'.
Here's my 'secret' prescription for change:
- You need a roadmap. If you don't know where you are and where you want to go, you're going to fail. You also need a step-by-step plan of tasks and activities to get you there.
- You will need to focus. Don't get distracted by shiny objects — it will be hard to stay on track and not veer off into uncharted territory where you might get demotivated.
- You are going to test your limits of confidence and work. It's going to be hard at times — you will have to push yourself more than you ever have before.
- You are going to have to be open to change a few key things in your life. Bad habits and decisions are hard to break — you have to chart a new course and stay on it.
- You are going to make many mistakes along the way. It's a fact of business — take chances and you might fail. It's how you stand up and keep going.
- You are going to have to make a LOT of new friends. You have to reach out farther than you ever have before — meet people who are scary — make hundreds of new friends.
- You need a little luck. Yes, luck. Luck appears when you open yourself up to new opportunities, options, and friends. And you cast away bad habits and procrastination.
Think of the new successful tier of business - Tim Cook (Apple), Brin & Page (Google), Jeff Bezos (Amazon), Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook), Jack Ma (Alibaba), etc. They all have and currently work quite hard at their roles to get and stay where they are today. Want to be highly successful? Want to be a star? You have to work it.
"There's no such thing as a free lunch."
Stop Hitting Your Career 'Snooze Bar'.
Do you need a 'Wake-Up Call' to your career?
Do you need a 'Wake-Up Call' to your career? In the movie 'Up In The Air', George Clooney's character, Ryan Bingham is firing a man named Bob in his late fifties who is complaining he has no idea what to do next.
Ryan replies in a powerful tone: "Look, I’m a wake-up call.” He explains to Bob he must follow his dreams. Bob doesn’t understand. Ryan looks through Bob’s resume. He minored in culinary arts in college and worked busing tables at an Italian restaurant before working here. “When were you going to do what makes you happy?” Ryan asks. “This is a rebirth,” he says. Bob takes the packet with a new direction for his career.
Sometimes there are internal and external forces knocking on your door — a career wake-up call — for you to change. Sometimes it's a light tap on the door — sometimes it's someone breaking the door down. Here are some examples of a 'wake-up call':
- You HATE going to work. Not dislike — HATE. Step back and think, if I hate my job, what kind of effort and quality will I produce? Will it suffer?
- You give a motivational speech to your company — and no one finds it motivational. Why aren't you speaking their language and firing up what important to them?
- You find your support network of friends are dwindling. Are you taking regular steps to engage new people? Are you losing or retaining your current colleagues?
- Your board turns down your request for expansion. Have you done the requisite politicking to each member to get their buy-in? Or are you resting on your laurels?
I can go on ad-infinitum. Fortunately, there is a common thread running through all of these examples:
What you've done before isn't working now. Something has changed — sometimes it's you, and most of the time it's external.
Bottom line — you need to change. Adapt. Evolve. Morph.
Because if you don't, that wake-up call will turn into something far, far worse. And don't hit the snooze bar either. Take action and change.
POST YOUR QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS BELOW
P.S. The alarm bells are ringing at work — and you don’t know what to do next. Don’t worry – you and I can work on it together so you instantly develop a plan of attack - Let’s talk. I’ve worked with thousands of people who wanted to take assertive steps in this area — call or email me to schedule a complimentary session.
Image: Royalty-Free License from Dollar Photo Club 2014.
Grow Your Position In Three Small Steps.
Sometimes we feel trapped at work. Doing the same thing day after day. Handling the same issues, the same malcontents and ultimately getting nowhere. What can you do to move forward?
When I work with teams, I have them perform a lot of teamwork, but I also refocus them on a series of simple exercises to help them grow their position.
I call it Change-Grow-Help. Simply, take a step back and look at what you do all day and think about what three things you can do to make it bigger, better, and more engaging.
CHANGE
What's one thing can I change in my day-to-day work to make it more streamlined, more efficient and effective?
Why CHANGE? Because we get stale. We end up doing things that are easy, familiar, and comfortable. To move forward, we need to mix it up and see where we can make subtle modifications to do things faster and better.
Examples - Kill a meeting, come in a bit earlier, delete that weekly report no one reads, meet with your boss for 5 minutes every morning, streamline your email, etc.
GROW
What's one thing can I do to grow me as an individual who can offer more, perform better, and make more-informed positions?
Why GROW? Because we should be always growing. The attitude of 'I know all I need to know" is a 20th Century behavior. You're going to be left behind VERY QUICKLY. What books, resources, classes can I access to grow myself?
Examples - Take a class, read a book, listen to a podcast/audiobook, meet new people, network, join a club, check out Toastmasters or Dale Carnegie, or (hire a coach).
HELP
What's one thing can I do to help my team, the department, or organization? How can I branch out and make a difference?
Why HELP? If you don't step out of your little cubicle hovel and start making a difference in other parts of the company, you'll stay an unknown and ultimately be forgotten, laid off, or fired.
Examples - Join a committee, start an organization, hold a learning lunch, advertise to your team and visit a conference, start a blood drive, etc.
Image: Royalty-Free License from Dollar Photo Club 2014.
Top 10 Reasons Why You're Not Getting A Job.
As a business and career coach, I run into so many different people every day. I attend conferences and events, I run workshops and webinars, and I host team masterminds for all types of professionals. And guess what? When I talk to the unemployed, I've heard all the excuses why you don't have a job. Here are the top ten realities of your job search today:
1. You're waiting for the phone to ring or the limo to pull up to your house and whisk you off to your new position.
This is my #1 pet peeve when I host job-search workshops. People say they are busy, they're sending out resumes, but the reality is they are mentally waiting for a knight in shining armor to whisk them away to a new cushy position. Guest what . . . it's never going to happen. NEVER.
Unless you're a recently fired CEO with massive connections to firms who want to hire you and subsequently ruin their company, no one is going to call and no one is driving up with a black stretch limo. Once you realize you are on your own and only YOU can change your situation, it's time for a mental ass-kick to get your head on straight.
What To Do: You want an mental ass-kick? Start listening to motivational speakers to keep your mental energy level up and constant. Check out Zig Ziglar, Dale Carnegie, Jeffrey Gitomer, and my favorite Bennie Hsu at Get Busy Living Podcast. He's the best!
2. You rarely go out.
You get up at 9 AM, you probably don't take a shower, you get dressed in your old geriatric Adidas sweatsuit, and sit in front of your laptop. WRONG!
What To Do: Get up at 5 AM, go for a walk/run outside, take a shower, and get dressed in real clothes. You don't like it? TOUGH. This is your workday and for the next 8-10 hours, I am your drill sergeant and you will deliver 110% looking for a job every Monday through Friday. Set up a schedule which takes you outside every single day. Meet people for coffee, hit the library, go to the gym, walk around the park. Strike up conversations with people — you never know who you will meet.
3. You check the web for postings, send out a few resumes, and watch Ellen, Rachael, and Jerry the rest of the day.
Unemployment is not a vacation. You have to attack your job search like any project you've ever delivered at work.
What To Do: You have to:
- Focus on the marketplace - What companies are doing well? Where are the growth areas? Who are the movers and shakers?
- Analyze your attributes against your competition - Do a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis on YOU. Figure out how you leverage your strengths and opportunities.
- Develop key targets to go after - Analyze your commuting radius, find out all the potential industries and organizations within your circle, and begin to make a hit list.
- Execute - Go after each one incrementally in a cascade pattern to ensure you are not inundated with tasks, but your search is progressing in a healthy fashion.
4. Your industry has changed.
You actually thought people were going to buy slide-rules FOREVER. Yes, that's right, you're industry is changing. And guess what? Everyone's industry is changing. Some are morphing into other forms, some are merging, many are shrinking, and a lot are just plum going out of business. If you thought you could keep your job or profession for 30 years, I have a DeLorean to sell you.
What To Do: Figure out where your industry is going and either stick around for the very bumpy ride or jump off at the station for the next train. Get to thee library, my dear young minstrel and start understanding what is really happening in the marketplace. Read the WSJ, Medium, BusinessWeek, Fast Company, Inc, and Foundr. Also meeting with industry luminaries doesn't hurt either.
5. You're too old.
Where did the time go? You were having so much fun as an executive in a corner office working on strategy and mergers, you never saw the axe coming for you until it was too late. Now you're 55 and no one wants you. Let me rephrase that — no 20-year old in HR wants you. The minute they do the college graduate math in their head (or on their calculator), your résumé is flying faster than a 767 into the circular file. And the funny thing is you keep doing it.
What To Do: Stop repeating something which doesn't work and expecting something different. You have to get out of the HR/Recruiter trap and move up the ladder and meet/engage/schmooze the hiring managers. Go to industry events, reach out to them via LinkedIn/Twitter, and google their name to get to know them. Then reach out and try to meet them.
6. You're too young.
Where did the time go? You were just in college wowing them with your 4.0 GPA and now no one will take your calls because you have no experience.
What To Do: It's time for you to get some experience! You need to call in every chip on the poker table of life and have them connect you with possible paid intern/entry level positions. Let's get real — you might have a little bit of knowledge, but your don't have the experience to hit deadlines consistently, run a meeting, handle an angry client, manage a boss, or run a complex project. You have to take a small hit position/salary-wise and build up those talents before you really hit the big leagues of life.
7. You're unrealistic about your position and your salary.
"Look, I was Vice President of Strategic Initiatives with a yearly base salary of $275K. Why doesn't anyone want me?"
What To Do: There are a finite number of positions out there which might fit your position/salary requirements, but you will never find them in time. I know, you might run into them, but most likely, NOT. You have to be a bit flexible on the Who/What/Where/How Much in the current marketplace. Try to broaden your scope and see what else is out there. It might not be a VP position, or one drowning in strategy. It might be a bit lower than $275K a year — but then again, it's higher than the $0/year you're pulling in now (great tax benefits though).
8. You have a glass-half-empty mentality.
No one likes a whiner. I just spoke with a prospect this week who could not stop talking about all the bad bosses and decisions they've made in the past 10 years. The first rule of your job search: Never, ever, say bad things about your past. Not only does it cloud anyone's opinion of you, it brings your mental state down into the basement.
What To Do: Start imagining what life would be like if you had that wonderful position RIGHT NOW. Where would you be? Who would you be working with? What would you be doing? How would you get there. Stop thinking and feeling guilty about the past and start preparing for your glorious future. Get your head half-full immediately.
9. You're afraid of Thinking Big and reaching out to the real power-brokers.
No one is going to think big for you (except me). You hamstring your search and actions by being risk-averse. You're afraid of rejection and will never put yourself in a position of actually touching key movers and shakers in your industry. No . . . you will continue to interview with 20-year-old HR reps who text more than they think and wonder why you don't have a killer position.
What To Do: Get a piece of paper and write down what would be your PERFECT job. Now actualize it in your universe — find those companies who fit the bill and reach out to the key people who run those positions. The funny thing is . . . these same people are always on the lookout for new talent. You're just not putting yourself onto their radar.
10. You've given up.
You've tried again and again to get a job offer, an interview or even a solid connection and it seems the cards are stacked against you. It's been years since you've worked and you're draining your savings account to keep your household afloat.
What To Do: You can always try again. Take a different tack, work on an alternate strategy, reach out to new people. In fact, I just worked with a client who was unemployed for two years and within three months, he had a number of offers and took an incredible job. You never know where your next break will occur.
Free image provided by iStockPhoto.
What Is The One Simple Change That Made Your Life Better?
I did some research on the web and then asked a number of colleagues, past and present clients about what they changed to make their life better.
I did some research on the web and then asked a number of colleagues, past and present clients about what they changed to make their life better. Not surprisingly, this list delivers many simple changes one can easily do.
This is what I came up with:
I stopped watching the news. It is all over-hyped drivel designed to keep you afraid. It's not good for you.
I Got A Little Gold Star On My Homework Today.
"The highest compliment you can pay a career coach is they change your life for the better with results beyond what you imagine. This is what Rich did for me through a way of coaching that showed the path, outlined requirements and gave me the tools to do it. I also know he can do it again and do it for anyone. Rich is an invaluable resource." — Rob Petersen, President & Founder at BarnRaisers
Rob - Thank you! You are the best.
Change Your Life With A Cookie.
"You don't become a failure until you're satisfied with being one." A fortune cookie — I found this in a darn fortune cookie!
How serendipitous life is — when you least expect it — the universe opens a door to enlightenment.
So what does this mean?
- You are not instantly a failure when you fail.
- No one can make you a failure.
- Only you can make yourself a failure.
- It's easy to fail, but then it's also as easy to decide to learn from your failure.
- Failure is a prolonged state of mind.
- Failure influences future behaviors.
Are you going to make mistakes? Sure.
Are you going to fail? Sure.
But we need to understand is HOW we react to that failure. If we let it defeat us — Failure has won.
If we step back and learn from our failure — we move on. We stay strong. We get that much closer to success.
So today — don't focus on your failures, your losses, your dropped balls, your missed chances.
Today I want you to see what CAN happen. What you can do right NOW.
You'll thank me.
Two People To Keep Your Eye On At Work.
I've always said, keep your eyes on people who live at the ends of any spectrum.
- In politics, be wary of the extreme conservative or liberal.
- In sports, be wary of the player who swings for the fences or the one who waits to be walked.
- In school, stand back and watch the student who maxes out on their course load and the one who takes the bare minimum.
In business, don't follow people who continuously upset the apple cart or people who never want to change anything.
My advice? Live in the middle of the spectrum and move towards each end based on reasoned and factual thinking. But don't stay in one place. And don't stay at one end. Usually, people who live at the ends of a spectrum tend to be either fanatical or lazy.
Years ago, (okay . . . MANY years ago), I worked on a project to deliver GIS (mapping) technology to our salesforce. We were in the beta test stage and had to work with huge (250mb!) replaceable hard drives. Each salesperson had to swop hard drives, update their data, and replace the hard drive. Each hard drive was then FedEx'ed back to our office to erase. I came up with the idea of burning CD's with the info on them (back then laptops did not have a CD reader). There was a company who developed an external CD reader to connect to the port on the back of the laptop. Problem solved! We would mail the CD's instead.
You wouldn't believe the push-back I received from our IT department:
- You can't do that.
- It will corrupt the drivers on the laptop.
- It will pull too much power and short circuit the battery.
I can go on forever. So I went out with my own credit card, bought the CD drive, hooked it up to my laptop, and transfered the files in 2-3 minutes. Even when I showed them the process and how fast it worked (and so much more economical and easy), they still didn't want to do it.
They were living on one end of the spectrum. I moved to the other to make things easier for my customers (the salespeople) and much cheaper for the company (hard drives were expensive back then).
Do you find yourself at one end of the spectrum in your career or business? Why? What is it costing you?
POST YOUR QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS BELOW
P.S. Working with someone at one end of the spectrum? Let’s talk. We can devise a strategy to get them to think more holistically — call or email me to schedule a complimentary session.
Is Your Career Going Up? Or Down?
This week was chock full of incredible conversations with clients, colleagues, partners and prospects! All had wonderful ideas and goals. Kudos! One of the topics that I discussed with many of them was my theory that our world is changing.
This week was chock full of incredible conversations with clients, colleagues, partners and prospects! All had wonderful ideas and goals. Kudos! One of the topics that I discussed with many of them was my theory that our world is changing.
It's not a new idea - everyone knows that the world is changing. It changes everyday. You have two choices:
RIDE THE ROLLERCOASTER OR DRIVE YOUR LIFE!
What will you choose? Let's look at each one:
RIDE THE ROLLERCOASTER
- It's easy. Someone else does all the work. You get to put your feet up and enjoy the ride.
- Someone else makes all the decisions for you. Some might not be beneficial to you.
- When you start to feel insecure about the direction you're taking, there is nothing you can do. Someone else is in control.
- When things start to go south and you definitely do not like the position you're in, tough beans.
- When the world around you starts to radically change - you can't do much - you're still on the ride.
- When you see all of your friends and colleagues move to better situations - you realize you don't know how to stop the ride.
- When processes, systems, whole ecosystems fail and fall around you - THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO.
This is happening right now in Publishing. Newspapers. Bookstores. Music Stores. Video Stores. Finance. IT. Travel. And many, many other fields . . .
Rollercoasters never really go anywhere. They go up and down, left and right, but at the end of the ride, you are right back where you started. Do you want your job to be like that? Your career? Your life? I don't think so. Let's look at an alternative:
DRIVE YOUR LIFE
- It's scary. There is no map. You chart your course.
- It has its peaks and valleys. You are energized when things are good and enervated when things are bad. But you can change the game.
- If you see other systems, people, processes change, you can assess what's happening and make modifications to your journey.
- You make all of your decisions. You probably get input to help you weigh each alternative, but in the end, it's up to you.
- You want to go left? Go left. You want to go right? Go right. You are in control at all times.
- You decide who you want to work with, who you don't want to work with, where you want to go, what you want to do - no one else. That may be energizing or scary.
- You are your own safety net. You catch yourself when you fall (or fail). But you pick yourself up and start again. It's a learning experience. Not a failure.
So . . . who do you want to be today? Start making THE DECISION. Your job, career, and life depend on it.
POST YOUR QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS BELOW
P.S. Getting tired of that rollercoaster? Let’s talk. I’ve worked with thousands of people who wanted to take assertive steps in their career — call or email me to schedule a complimentary session.
3 Tips When Everything Is Failing All Around You.
Are many of our cherished institutions failing and falling by the wayside? What saplings are beginning to grow out from under the devastation?
"Sometimes the hurricane knocks down the biggest trees, to only allow the saplings to thrive." Is this happening in the marketplace today?
Are many of our cherished institutions failing and falling by the wayside? What saplings are beginning to grow out from under the devastation?
First, let's discuss the biggest trees in the marketplace — let's look at a basic company directory:
- Management/Admin - shrinking, less middle management, no admin
- Financial - in a tizzy, most are looking for 'inventive' ways to save
- Human Resources - outsourced areas, shrinking training, little hiring
- Operations - outsourced overseas, replaced by tech, do more with less
- Marketing - outsourced, social media typhoon, failing media institutions
- IT - enterprise to cloud, sexy area to basic plumbing transition, changes instantly
- Sales & Customer Service - most valuable of the bunch, yet do more with less
If you work in any of these areas, you've probably seen some of these things occurring (and some others).
But change is a constant. As I tell all my clients:, "Don't try to desperately hang on to what you're losing, anticipate the future based on what's happening now, and move towards it with your eyes wide open."
First — what can you currently do to stay alive and relevant in your department? You know what areas are growing and conversely, what areas are shrinking (or going away). Don't put your head in the sand — you need to take action TODAY.
Ask for more responsibility. Check out what the 'hot' projects are. Who are the stars? Begin to push yourself and challenge the internal status quo.
If you were unemployed and wanted a job in retail, I wouldn't point you towards Blockbuster, I would direct you to the Apple Store.
Second — start thinking strategically. Where is your area of expertise going? You don't want to be a slide-rule salesperson in a world of calculators. Start taking steps now to make what you have to offer powerful, relevant, and in-demand for the next 5-10-15 years.
Third — embrace change and stay flexible. Don't fight the rising tide. Don't watch the trees fall all around you and expect your tree to survive. Where are the saplings? If you don't make the jump now, you might not have the timing, resources and opportunity to make the jump when needed.
It all starts with a simple, clear plan coupled with ACTION. Start today.
What first step do you need to take to begin this process?
Hate Your Job? Here's How To Love It.
How much love is there in your life? You probably love your parents, your spouse/partner, your kids . . . but what else do you love?
Do you love any of your friends? Colleagues? Nature? A beautiful day? A good book?
How about work? Do you love it? Hate it? If work was a long spectrum from Totally Love to Uncomfortably Despise, where would you fall on that line?
"Love is the greatest refreshment in life." - Pablo Picasso How much love is there in your life?
You probably love your parents, your spouse/partner, your kids . . . but what else do you love?
Do you love any of your friends? Colleagues? Nature? A beautiful day? A good book?
How about work? Do you love it? Hate it? If work was a long spectrum from Totally Love to Uncomfortably Despise, where would you fall on that line?
During one of my free Inside Track Open Mike Sessions, we discussed this typical symptom of business. How can I move up that spectrum and better love what I do. Because if you love what you do:
- You do it better.
- You enjoy doing it.
- You are fulfilled doing it. Challenged.
- You learn.
- You grow.
- You have FUN.
So how do you love what you do? We first need to investigate why you don't love what you do. It's usually because of these four reasons:
- It's boring. Or 'SOS' - you do the 'Same Old Stuff' every day.
- You hate the business, the people, the commute, or the location.
- You question or someone else questions your performance. You feel you are not fully qualified or someone is a severe critic.
- It's not what you really want to do.
During our sold-out open mike session, I mentioned there are only three choices when it comes to work:
- Endure. Stay and do nothing.
- Change. Stay and change the game.
- Leave. Get the heck out of there.
That's it. If you want to LOVE what you do, you can't choose #1 (endure). So if we take our model and apply it to our four reasons:
1. It's boring.
Change. Ask for more demanding/challenging work from your boss. Think of new ways to deliver to clients. Be inventive, take chances, use your imagination. Staying safe and fearful will only deliver more boredom. Trust me.
2. You hate the business, the people, the commute, or the location.
Leave. Changing any of these items is difficult (unless you can relocate or telecommute). But I've found, the best way to deal, is to make a wholesale change to a different environment. But be careful, you might just jump from the fat into the fire.
3. You question or someone else questions your performance.
You — Stop doing that. When we question our performance, it's usually based on a fear of forgetting something critical. Most of the time, we are correct and don't have to worry. Start using a checklist or redundancies to solve this problem.
Them — Ask them for constructive feedback rather than being just a critic. Ask them to help you do your job better. Ask others (who you feel are top performers) for insight and advice.
Otherwise . . . Leave.
4. It's not what you really want to do.
Analyze your options and environment and make a change to another position. Or leave and do what you really want to do.
A lot of these solutions might sound simple or trite. But it's the truth. You might be making it more complex, but if you sit down and lay out your situation, it probably falls within one of these four areas.
If you find it difficult — you probably don't want to change.
How To Reward Your People.
Fact: We don't regularly acknowledge the people who make our career machine run. Everyone who works so hard to make us look good to our clients and management. So here's a little tool to help you remember. It's called R E W A R D S.
Fact: We don't regularly acknowledge the people who make our 'career machine' run. Everyone who works so hard to make us look good to our clients and management.
So here's a old tool to help you remember. It's called R E W A R D S.
R = Results Only reward results to encourage behavior.
E = Explainable Able to explain to everyone else.
W = When it happens Reward someone as close to when it occurs, it's stronger, more powerful that way.
A = Available Available to everyone on your team. Don't play favorites.
R = Repeatable Other people on your team can do the same thing and the same result will occur.
D = Designed Specifically for the person, personalize it. It makes it special.
S = Share publicly Make an announcement, encourage new behaviors.
Try it this week — you will begin to see it slowly change your team's efforts.
What do you do to reward your staff?
How To Make Work Bearable & Fun.
You hate your job. You hate going to work. You hate your boss. You hate the people you work with. You hate your cubicle. Or it's not good or bad — just boring. You watch the clock and pray for 5 PM to roll around.
You hate your job. You hate going to work. You hate your boss. You hate the people you work with. You hate your cubicle. Or it's not good or bad — just boring. You watch the clock and pray for 5 PM to roll around.
Welcome to the club. We all have days like this. Here's a little secret: The difference between 1-2 bad days a month and every day being a bad day lies right in your lap.
It's called PERSPECTIVE. Most of the time, we are a huge influence on how we interpret and absorb our environment. If we have a crazy weekend and then have to look forward to the workweek, I know, it sucks.
Here's one rule which works for me and for many of my clients: Add Pizazz to EVERYTHING you do.
What does it mean? From attending a status meeting to delivering a major project — figure out how you can do it better. Make it sing. Go the extra mile to make it stand out.
Now you're probably saying you've done your best. You probably have — but I know you can do a little bit better. Look at all of your areas of delivery and see if you can add a little pizazz to your offering.
It might be offering an additional piece of information during a meeting or re-doing a promo box on your web site. Do Something.
Why does this work? It keeps you at a higher state of consciousness, performance, and focus. You are no longer wandering through your work — you're looking for opportunities to always IMPROVE.
And here's the best part — it's infectious. Your superiors instantly see it — so you get the great projects, the promotions, the spotlight. Your team members feel it — they start performing at a higher level — making you look better. Your peers observe a sea-change in you and it makes them jealous (always a good thing).
Bottom line — adding pizazz to everything you do will not only change your perception about your environment — it will change your career — and your life.
Try it, you'll like it.
Have you ever taken a step and added pizazz to the things you do? What happened?
This has been another installment in my ongoing series, “Are You A Catalyst?” — today’s focus is adding Pizazz to everything you do.
Image provided by Nina Matthews Photography at Flickr.
The Secret To Become Truly Happy.
Are you fulfilling your destiny? You have it inside you — you know it and I know it — you just have to make a personal decision to bring it out. What are your desires? Your TRUE desires. Not "I want an iPad" or "I want a promotion". What do you REALLY want to do with your life?
Are you fulfilling your destiny? You have it inside you — you know it and I know it — you just have to make a personal decision to bring it out. What are your desires? Your TRUE desires. Not "I want an iPad" or "I want a promotion". What do you REALLY want to do with your life?
This is NOT a hard question — it's not complicated — what excites you IS your destiny. You just have to realize it and move forward towards it.
The problem is that we tend to stick stone walls between us and our destiny.
What are you passionate about? What do you really love doing? Who do you like to hang around with? Where do you like to go?
Let's be honest with ourselves — it probably isn't an inner cubicle with florescent lighting for 8 to 10 hours a day. Throw in various team status meetings in confined conference rooms with no windows and jerks that lurk around every corner — I know of no one who looks forward to that.
So why do we do it? It's the security and the money. But that's not true.
- Security — There is no security in today's workplace. They can fire you at the drop of a hat. So stop kidding yourself.
- Money — If you figure in all the money you make and then all the expenses you need to make that money (clothes, commute, lifestyle) and the taxes, it's really not a lot compared to the possibility of doing what you REALLY love and making just a little bit less.
Do you like to build things? Do you like to work with people? Do you like to engage and motivate people? Do you like to work with other age groups (children or seniors)? Do you like to be outdoors or indoors? Work with your hands?
The funny thing is — we tend to let life and other people take our destiny over. They make the decisions where we go, what we do, where we work, who we interact with.
That's why you feel that there is something missing from your life — a hole, an emptiness, a void that cannot be filled based on your current viewpoint.
You need to change your view, wear new glasses, step out of that cubicle and figure out what excites you. What energizes you. What motivates you.
Keep saying this to yourself, "You are not meant to live a miserable, unfulfilled life." Don't spend 30 years doing something you don't like to do.
Make that change TODAY.
Who has made the change and feels 1000% better that they made that change? Let me know!
2011: What Do You Want To Change?
Buckle Up — this is going to be a fun ride. Answer these three questions with fast, (1-2 word) specific responses . . . don't just write 'work', write 'client calls', or 'Penske Project'. Don't just write 'business', write 'BNI connecting' or 'new website', or 'product expansion'. I'm looking for you to blurt out items without a lot of introspection. I want your gut responses:
Buckle Up — this is going to be a fun ride.
Answer these three questions with fast, (1-2 word) specific responses . . . don't just write 'work', write 'client calls', or 'Penske Project'. Don't just write 'business', write 'BNI connecting' or 'new website', or 'product expansion'. I'm looking for you to blurt out items without a lot of introspection. I want your gut responses:
In 2010:
- What was great?
- What sucked?
- What surprised you?
Why 1-2 word responses? I want this to be a fast assessment that only you will see. Keeping it short, easy and personalized will ensure you'll do it. If it was any longer or introspective, you probably wouldn't find the time.
You can't plan for the future without measuring where you are currently. It's like going on a trip — you need to have a destination, a route to get there, and a starting point. I like to start my clients with this as a starting point.
Now you know where you've been and what has happened to you, let's begin to plan your new roadmap for 2011.
In 2011:
- Based upon what was great in 2010 - how can you do more of it this year? How can you expand it? How can you branch out to other areas? Who can help you grow it bigger and stronger?
- Based upon what sucked in 2010 — how can you do less of this? Was it because you spent a lot of time doing it and it didn't pay off? Did you hate doing it? What else can you do to get the same or similar results? Who can do it for you so you can do other things that leverage your strengths?
- Based upon what surprised you in 2010 — why did it surprise you? Was it an action or activity delivering much, much more than you ever dreamed? Was it something you've never done before and found it was exciting to do? What can you do in 2011 to make your successful surprise more powerful?
These simple guideposts will allow you to either toss bad behaviors or occurrences quickly and allow you to easily identify, quantify, and deliver new growth based upon your strengths.
Make 2011 a powerful and defining moment for your career and life.
Change Is Like A Locomotive Rocketing Down The Tracks.
Some sage advice from Peter Drucker: "Everybody has accepted by now that change is unavoidable.
Some sage advice from Peter Drucker:
"Everybody has accepted by now that change is unavoidable.
But that still implies that change is like death and taxes — it should be postponed as long as possible and no change would be vastly preferable.
But in a period of upheaval, such as the one we are living in, change is the norm."