Now that vision is out of your head and onto paper or its technological equivalent, what do you do with it? That grand exercise you undertook has yielded fruit and your excitement is palpable. Purpose and mission as well as action steps are the obvious next place to go. But let’s keep this at the 30,000 foot level and recognize the importance and power the vision statement brings. For a solo-prenuer, the next step is …
I’ve been writing a lot about confidence over the past few months. There is a reason for that. I believe it is the key to success for anyone for anything they want to achieve. For most of my life, that is the gift I have wanted to give people, the gift of confidence. The thing is, that is not a gift I can give anyone. It is a gift you give yourself. The closest I can …
Let’s play a game! I am thinking of a four-letter word that begins with “F.” No, not that one! The word I am thinking of is “fail” and its commonly used counterpart “failure.” What does it mean to fail? We typically think of failure as being unsuccessful in our efforts to be or do something. In last week’s message, we recalled our first unsuccessful attempts on the bicycle. Mastering the art of riding a bike …
We admire them from afar and close-up, wondering how they have mastered this ability. Calmly and powerfully their influence touches us and so many others. Yet this influence is not controlling, dominating or belittling. It is refreshing, inspiring, and uplifting. And we wonder how did they become so great? What does it take to be a leader of that caliber? Definitions give us a place to start. To lead is to guide on a way …
Have you ever had one of those dreams (nightmares!) where you show up for class only to discover there is a test that day that you either did not know about or completely forgot? Fear and panic set in as you realize you are far from prepared. What you need most at this moment, besides a wake-up call, is sorely missing. That’s the funny thing about confidence, we usually only notice it when it is …
Over the past month I have addressed a few different subjects yet all had a common thread. Do you see how they are connected? Here are the links to check them out: Socrates is Still in Business Needs to be Known Getting Naked What Other People Think You might be concerned about what other people think if you are getting naked and have needs to be known. But you know me better than to be …
At a recent dinner with a friend, she expressed that maybe after 20 plus years of working in her field perhaps she wanted to do something different. That it would energize her and be fun to explore another side of life both professionally and personally. But how would she reinvent herself? What would be the steps? Of greater concern, how would she replace the income she had become accustomed to? Another professional colleague asked a …
So often in my work as a coach, I hear “what will people think” as an excuse for a client not doing what they truly want to do. It is not usually iterated that clearly at first; it takes the form of a different excuse. Yet, with a little probing, what I find is a fear of what others will think of them. We have all felt this fear at some point in our lives; …
Given the furor over the movie Fifty Shades of Grey, you may wonder what a review of a book titled Getting Naked is doing in a professional coach’s repertoire. Because we all do it every day and if we can embrace it physically then we can embrace it mentally and become a stronger leader. “I have to get naked to be a better leader?” You’ve imagined an audience in their underwear to overcome presentation jitters. …
The great philosopher Socrates said that “To know thyself is the beginning of wisdom.” Oh great one, then please do tell how we come to know ourselves. Fortunately, this is where the passage of time works in our favor. It is estimated that Socrates lived between the years of 470 to 399 BC. The passage of so many centuries has allowed the human race to discover more and more about just who we are. The field …
Last week I attended a breakfast meeting of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD). How I came to be at that meeting is an interesting story of connection but you’ll have to wait to hear that one. What stood out for me at that meeting is hearing, yet again, a theme that has been playing in my consciousness in recent months. The topic of the meeting was a panel discussion on “Moderating Board Performance …
You knew this was coming. The week couldn’t get by without a reference to the Super Bowl. What a contest and a display of excellence in action. The game was truly a battle between two great teams. Much hype, and even controversy this year, proceeds this annual show-down and the game was worthy of it. I don’t profess to understand all the ins and outs of play calling and execution, yet it was easy to …
If feel good, niceties and political correctness are important to you, then read no further. Gene Simmons’ book Me, Inc. (yes, that Gene Simmons of KISS) will offend your delicate sensibilities. If instead you are interested in a “tell it like it is, it ain’t all necessarily nice, but here’s what you need to know book,” then read on. This is the most recent of a total of eleven books that Gene has published and …
A client and I were talking recently and this analogy came to mind as we brainstormed on moving the business forward. Remember when you were a kid and you went outside after it rained? There were puddles everywhere! As you explored, you discovered streams and creeks clogged with debris washed down by the rain. Leaves, branches and occasionally trash hampered the run-off preventing the water from moving on. Ever the curious kid, you pulled out …
Just like a mirror, reflection on the year allows you to see things that might simply go unnoticed…the black pepper in between your front teeth or that you look absolutely smashing in purple. Our reflection shows us the good and the bad. If we choose to look close enough we can learn from both. The same goes for reflecting on your year. It provides the opportunity to see the good and the bad; to celebrate …
A year in review and it is only the first week in November? What is up with that? Recall that there were approximately 42 productive work days remaining from last week’s message. We are down to 36 now. I am not one for “scare tactics” nor does my futuristic strength cause me to think continually of the next day and more. So why am I talking about a year in review in early November? Because …
What a wonderful world we live in, full of choices and opportunities. Our ancestors would be astounded by the sheer number of things we choose, in our work and personal lives. Sometimes so are we! A conundrum is an intricate and difficult problem as defined by Merriam Webster. Why then would choices result in a conundrum? Wouldn’t more choices mean more options and opportunities to solve our intricate and difficult problem? Therein, lies the challenge. …
Equipped with proper instruction and the encouragement not to get discouraged when I encounter resistance, Usache and I begin retraining our walk. Some days I think it would be easier if I could be instructed every time I ride. Besides being hard on the pocketbook, it is impractical in terms of scheduling and the greatest learning often comes outside the coaching session. And there it is, the resistance. Marie told me to expect it. We would …
So how do you bust out of a rut? Most of us have been in one in our life, either literally or figuratively. Let’s take the literal version of being stuck in a rut. I have had quite a lot of experience with this. My home town is Elkhart, Texas, a small town in East Texas, population 1,360. Think of unpaved roads (red clay) and driving across the pasture (sandy loam mix) to check on …
When things aren’t going as smoothly as we planned or in the direction we imagined; when we find our life and our business a far cry from what we have envisioned, our mind defaults to the thought that something needs “fixin” – that is Texan for the verb “to fix.” What is wrong, what is broken, what do we need to fix? We have a proclivity to zero in on our weaknesses. If business isn’t …