As easy as 1, 2, 3….

June 22, 2012 By

One of the success philosophies taught by thought leader Napoleon Hill is that “It is always your next move.”

When building a personal or professional platform, there are three essential elements that can guide our steps as we make each move.

The first element is education.  Before we can have a platform, we need to know what it is and have a depth of knowledge that allows us to champion it with passion and purpose.  For a platform to be sustainable, it must also include growth.  And so a continued focus on education for ourselves and our community is an essential component.

The second element is engagement.  A platform without a community or audience is merely a person with an opinion.  We have to engage an audience in dialogue.  We need to ensure that the platform is of value and serves.

The third element is execution.  A platform without associated action will not create change.  In the words of the Greek philosopher Epictetus: “First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.”  

The key to this is translating it into activities within each element.  My professional platform is centered on personal possibility.  The philosophy that there are abundant options.  I am always researching and looking for possibilities.  My personal quest is to learn something new everyday and then teach someone.  Engagement is covered by the teaching activity in many cases.  The execution comes with creating the framework where all of this happens.  That translates into the creation of a business focused on personal and professional development.

As I begin each day, I keep those three elements front of mind when planning my activities.  As I end each day, I reflect on their value and presence.  What a wonderful way to serve:  Learning, Listening and Leading.  What a rewarding way to live.

Thank you for being part of my community.

 

 

Filed Under: Possibilities & Perspective, Success & Significance, Winds of Change Tagged With: , , , , ,

The results are in!

June 21, 2012 By

It could be said that we have moved from the industrial age to the information age and have now arrived at the age of influence.  Everywhere you turn, you are not just asked to buy something, you are also asked to review it.  And if the review is favorable, you’ve endorsed the product, and by association, its maker.  Because this practice is so prevalent, it also drives us to search out the opinions of others ourselves before we buy.  Whatever work you do, there is now a need to produce some form of social proof that it does what it purports to do.  Even if that is education or entertainment.

This requires a great deal of transparency when the value of what you do is demonstrated by another person’s results.  When working as a possibility coach, I know that the engagement of the client is what will deliver a successful outcome.  As an author in that same area of thought leadership, the value is going to come from how someone applies what they read.  There is no “true to color or size” or “operates as advertised”.  That shifts how social proof is going to look and sound.

To get feedback that is meaningful, we need to be open to (even seek) several responses.  The one we desire (simply because we’re human) is that they loved the work and cannot wait to recommend it and take advantage of what we bring to market next.  That’s always the goal.  But it’s not always the result.

Another response could be that they are confused.  The message wasn’t clear.  Here is an opportunity for genuine feedback to improve our ability to present the message.  These responders are extremely valuable simply because they themselves are willing to be transparent in their reaction.  It takes courage to say that something isn’t clear.  We need to listen carefully to these members of our community.

We can also spark disagreement and find those that would argue against our ideas or position.  These responders are valuable because dialogue is always a good place for discovery.  The key in these situations is to keep the discussion on topic and shrouded always in respect.

Regardless of which of these types of response we receive, the key is not just seeking the feedback of our audience but also listening to it and responding.  Response does not equal a change in message.  In fact, usually it will not.  But with critical thinking and meaningful dialogue, our voices can soften or sharpen and our words will blossom more fully in their form and function.

One last word on the subject of feedback:  Don’t just expect it – give it!  Those that give first, often receive best.  Always remember that a candle loses nothing of its own light just because it lights another.

 

Filed Under: Possibilities & Perspective, Winds of Change Tagged With: , , , , ,

To the market we go…..

June 21, 2012 By

Sometimes we create challenges where they do not exist.  And most of the time, it comes down to communication.  One personal experience as a business owner was in the area of marketing and understanding the importance of “knowing” my audience.  I went into analysis over-drive.  I was being told at every turn that before I could create value for anyone, I had to first choose a “someone”.  So who do you choose?  There was the conundrum.  It also became clear to me that to make that decision you had to first understand yourself and be able to see where your own passion would bring you.  For some, the passion is in serving a particular group of people.  For others, it is providing a very specific value.  It starts there.  Which comes first? Who you serve or how you serve them?  It doesn’t matter.  It only matters that you choose one and then make sure the other side of the pairing fits.

As I began to delve into this it became clear to me that my passion was in the message.  In order to determine what audience would be served by that message, I began to look deeper at why I cared about it.  What was it that drove “it” front and center for me?  Not surpisingly, it was the people.  It was watching so many talented and gifted people be sidelined professionally simply because the places their skills had been applied was no longer a part of the economic landscape.  There is an entire layer of management within the corporate environment that is disappearing.  Not simply or solely because of the economy.  It is disappearing because the market no longer needs it.  Technologies and changes in lifestyle have streamlined everything about production.  What does that mean?  That means that those jobs are not coming back.  And if you were in one of them, you have to make a choice.  You can either mourn what has passed or embrace what is yet to come.

Dennis Waitley has been quoted as saying that: “We can’t afford to waste tears on what might-have-beens.  We need to turn the tears into sweat that can take us to what can be.”  That was my passion.  Working with that group of people as a possibility partner.  Helping them re-imagine a future better than the one they had planned.  It was my story.  And it became my message of hope.

As Seth Godin has so eloquently stated, we live in the time where somehow, someway – we find each other.  And we connect.  We put our ourselves out there with genuine caring and transparency so that we can recognize each other.  And when we do, that’s when the miracles happen.  So off to the market we go…  There are lives to change.  Especially our own.

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Possibilities & Perspective, Success & Significance, Winds of Change Tagged With: , , , , ,

Some things bear repeating…

June 20, 2012 By

Have you noticed that with some things in life we need reminders to keep certain values in focus?  It can be so easy to get overwhelmed by what is going on around us and lose sight of that core compass guiding us to the right place at the right time.  I surround myself with quick references that I know will keep my mental tracking in the right place.  And as Earl Nightingale said so brilliantly, “We become what we think about.” So it bears repeating some things that we need to think about as part of that evolving process.

I have found that a good way to stay centered is to have a clear manifesto.  After all, a better you is going to produce a better business.  Managing your thoughts, manages your actions.  And managing your actions, drivers better results in every aspect of your life.  Including your professional endeavors.  From time to time, I like to share mine here not only as a way to perhaps inspire my readers to craft their own, but to also reaffirm in my own voice, my own philosophical platform.  As you read through each statement, think about what would best express your beliefs in that particular area.  Then remember the power of taking the action of committing it to paper.  Write it down.  Then read it regularly.  You’ll find that as you evolve, your manifesto will evolve with you until it crafts into a full and powerful statement of you.

  1. My vision for the future is my decision touchstone. I recognize that what I do today is forming my tomorrow. I do not think about what might have been. I act on what will be.
  2. Creating value for others is always my objective. To do that, I need to understand and focus on what they need me to bring vs. what I want to bring.
  3. A curious nature is my most valuable resource. My most powerful tool is the right question.
  4. I invest time as a resource. I do not try to manage time. I set priorities and they determine how the time is spent.
  5. I do not think in terms of failure. I think in terms of effort.
  6. A change of scenery is often the absolute best way to achieve a change of perspective.
  7. The only rules that apply are those that I have accepted. By accepting (or not accepting) any guidelines, I am also accepting responsibility for my choices.
  8. Fear is not a bad thing. Fear is a healthy thing. Because it means I respect what I am undertaking.
  9. Fun is a good thing. I aspire always to have more fun.
  10. My surroundings reflect my values and appreciation for beauty.

 

 

Filed Under: Possibilities & Perspective, Success & Significance, Winds of Change Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Let me tell you a story…

June 10, 2012 By

I love a good story.  Don’t you?  It pulls me in and I am transported to a place where I am present.  I am fully engaged with the writer (or speaker).  It is why non-fiction platforms are most effectively delivered in a fictional setting.  As a story.  It allows the reader to take abstract ideas and concepts and begin to see each premise as it relates to them.  It actually makes the material more real.

That may seem at odds with the idea of non-fiction where everything should be “the facts”.  But in truth, fiction itself has some factual basis.  And it is not only possible for the two worlds to merge, it can be powerful.

When I first started going through the coach training program at iPEC, one of the required reading assignments was the book Energy Leadership.  The program is complex and the ideas involved can be challenging to absorb, even for someone highly trained in coaching.  And so I fully expected the book to be somewhat clinical and delve into the levels of energy, the psychology of energy and all of those principles taught within the program.  However, although it did go into all of those areas, rather than being clinical, it was fantastically engaging and after reading it, weeks of classroom instruction crystallized in a matter of hours.  The “aha” moment had arrived.  Why?  Because the author told a story. Rather than regurgitating the material in a clinical fashion, he illustrated the material within a story.  A story I could readily picture happening.  A story I had personally seen over and over again.  By using a fictional setting to illustrate the non-fictional premises, they actually became real.

For me, the use of a good story is fundamentally just good communicating.  And as a result.  Good writing.

Each time I sit down to write, that thought is always present – what’s the story?

Still doubtful?  Consider this:  What lessons did you learn from fairy tales?  From children’s fables?  And here’s one I know we’ll all relate to… how about Dr. Seuss?  Great lessons there.  About diversity, tolerance, perseverance, and yes – even possibilities.  Oh the places you’ll go!!! I suppose after all, that would be my ultimate fictional ride for possibility thinking.  So thank you Dr. Seuss!

 

Filed Under: Learning & Growth, Possibilities & Perspective, Winds of Change Tagged With: , , , , ,

How do you know?

June 10, 2012 By

My mentor Jim Rohn taught that if we want better answers, we must ask better questions.  A shift in perspective, the transformation of personal development, even the transition of a professional path all find their origins in the same place:  asking the right questions.

Everyone wants to know something.  For an author, the list of what we want to know, even need to know can seem endless.  Before we can explain, we have an innate need to explore.

The process does not begin with what we will write about, how we will write about it, where we will find the information we need or who we will trust to provide that information. At least for me that is not where it begins.  For me, it begins with why.  Because before I can find the answers, I must first find my questions.

When we talk about research, it can be helpful to understand that at the core, we are talking about questions.  We are talking about learning.  What I have found is that when we live in a constant state of what I call possibility thinking, the ability to form the right question and find remarkable answers becomes more and more instinctive.  It becomes less of a task and more of a way of being.  It shifts us away from the idea of creating data banks to the actualization of creating life experiences and then synthesizing that information in a way that makes the lessons not only valuable for us, but for others as well.

When we ask better questions as an author, we provide better answers for the challenges faced by our audience.

When we ask better questions as a person, we provide better answers for living our best lives.

No matter what answer we seek, the key to finding it is always going to be first finding the right question.

“Dwell in possibility.”  (Emily Dickinson)  Therein lies the right question.

 

 

Filed Under: Learning & Growth, Possibilities & Perspective, Success & Significance, Winds of Change Tagged With: , , , , , ,
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