Archive for January, 2012

It is not what happens to you or what has happened to you that counts, it is how you respond to it. Viktor Frankl, the author of Man’s Search for Meaning: wrote this quote …

“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”

How often do we get upset, stressed, worried or feel threatened by a situation that in actual fact will not really matter in a month’s time or even by tomorrow. When you are controlled by a set of circumstances, it is difficult to focus on what really counts.

One customer, one review, one project won’t be the end of your career, your business or your life in reality, however it can be if you do not refocus on what your end goal is right now.

Choose your response and you choose your destiny!

Back on the 28^th December, 2011, I asked you to answer 3 questions for me …

1. What have you learnt from this year?
2. What has been the number one message you are taking away from 2011?
3. What are you going to do differently in 2012?

Thank you to everyone who responded and I trust you’re enjoying your Personal and Professional Development Package. We got an overwhelming response to these 3 questions and I thought I would share just a couple of answers to each question with you …

Question 1.

• I have learnt to be more tolerable of other people in realising that people have different values to mine
• I have learnt I need to take better care of myself
• To always get quotations from tradesman; that money is not everything; that seeing your 1 year old daughter smile makes everything seem better
• That if I want to achieve my goals and dreams I have to be the one to action them- no one but me is going to do it for me!

Question 2.

• Stress wreaks havoc with my body
• To constantly review my thoughts & actions in everyday life situations and endeavour to improve myself – all that really matters at the end of the day is that you make a difference
• The well-being of immediate family and one’s self is everything
• Go for it! It’s ok that I have big dreams and goals and by taking one small step at a time I CAN reach my desire – health, employment and happiness – it is all within my reach

Question 3.

• Turn more thoughts / ideas / dreams into action. I am going to meditate & value myself more, stress less & believe in myself
• Understand rather than to immediately disagree / argue based on my values
• Take more risks; Be less critical of others; Focus on the positives; Be more passionate about my goals
• Ensure that I action my dreams. Stop wishing and talking about them – but do them!!

Image c/o breakfreenation.com

I recently got a response to one of my BLOG Posts, with the question … I am X years old, how do I start again? My *circumstances/ situation/career /fill in the blank* has changed.

It happens to all of us, in actual fact, it will happen to all of us a couple of times in our lifetime. At that point you have 2 choices, you can either look backwards and wish it was like it used to be or you can look forward, reinvent yourself, invent the future you desire and explore the possibilities. Each of these choices have an outcome….one will comfort you for a while before you become bitter and one will challenge you to become better.

If you find yourself at the start of this year with a change of circumstances that you did not create, then here are 5 steps to move you forward …

How do you start again?

1. Start looking forward, what can be, what could be and what you want to be.
2. Determine what you love to do and workout how to earn a living from it.
3. Decide how you want to feel this year and then determine what goals you need to achieve each day, week and month to have that feeling consistently.
4. Reset your goals for the year ahead based on 4 areas … Fun; Family; Finance; Fitness.
5. Work on shaping your mindset and mental attitude into the person you need to become to achieve the goals you have set for yourself. What type of personal and professional development activities do you need to complete in the next 90 days?

Photo c/o wowwindows8.com

I don’t know about you, but I have had a great break over Christmas and New Year. I’ve done little bit of travel, family Christmas dinners, celebrating with friends, spending time with Kristine and my girls and chilling out at home. Maybe that is why I am finding it tough to get back into it, my energy, enthusiasm and engagement levels are not at 100% yet.

So it begs the question … what is a good way to start your year off? Is it a fast start, a steady start or a slow start for you?

A fast start is where you pick the date and load up your schedule, which shocks the body and brain into action. A steady start, is like almost working at full capacity for half a day and the other half day working on those future projects. Finally, slow start is where you start off 20% one day, then 40% the next and 60% next, etc.

How are you going to start the year off? Remember so much success can be determined by how you start.

The power of a collective can be the force you need to commit, to get started and to make your goals a reality. It is so important that you share your goals, that can assist you, that can inspire you, that can give you insight into how it could be achieved better. I am consistently amazed with where I gain insights and inspiration from.

On Monday I met with one of my clients who has already achieved all of the items from the 2012 Challenge and was sharing his insights with me. He gave me a couple of ideas for my goals and approaches for the year ahead. Thanks for the insights Pierre.

So here is a quick offer for those people who would like an opportunity to share their goals, ask me questions or gain input from others on a similar journey, this Sunday I am going to be online doing a Live 1 hour Facebook Chat. Here are the details …

Sunday 22 January : 10am QLD / 11am NSW/Vic / 8am WA

https://www.facebook.com/PassionateTribe

The power of sharing your goals can be the difference between someone achieving their goals and someone who would have liked to have achieved their goals this year. I hope you will join in on the conversation.

Have you ever noticed when you turn on the TV or read a newspaper, all the reports are about death, doom, disaster, disappointment and despair? Often they are just the commercials! We all know good news does not sell, however bad news does influence our mind set. Each of us need be careful who and what information we let near our minds.

If you believe everything in the newspapers, every economy is stuffed. Yet the truth is, not every business is struggling. I have 265 clients in 20 different industries across 4 different countries and not all of them are struggling, in actual fact half of them are having record years. Surround yourself with positive people, positive information and you will create positive outcomes and have a positive mindset.

Thank you for letting me near your mind with this BLOG!

I am not sure if there is such a thing called mental malnutrition. However I do see a lot of people who walk around in a trance, zombie-like, who have been starved of any professional or personal growth. They go through their day to day roles without any real energy. If food gives us fuel then personal growth activity gives us energy and confidence.

It gives us greater belief in our abilities, a capacity to be better, do better and achieve better results. When was the last time you sat down to a feast of personal growth and development material? Which book are you currently reading? What learning environment are you going to put yourself into in the next 90 days?

There are no calories in personal and professional food so go ahead and consume as much as you like, it is great fuel for your soul!

Most of us have heard of S.M.A.R.T. Goals … Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Tangible. The problem with using this formula for your personal goals is that there is no emotional connection. This process works for creating a business direction and goal, however each of us are creatures who have emotions.

It is the one thing that sets us apart from the animal kingdom: we feel love, sadness, joy, anger, happiness and frustration. I believe until you have an emotional connection to your goal you will not be fully committed to bringing that goal into existence. Take the time, find your why – your real reason to achieve a goal – and you will then start the process to bringing your goal to reality.

Forget S.M.A.R.T. goals, think about the emotional connections you want in your life. How do you want to feel?

Ask yourself the question as you plan the milestones you want to achieve in 2012. What is really possible for you to achieve? What if you had the right mindset? What if everything just fell into place for you? What if the stars aligned just for you, what could you achieve?

From time to time we have to let our imagination run wild so we can find the hidden possibilities that juice us up and engage our emotions so we can create a real connection with what’s important in our life.

What is really possible for you to achieve?

.

Here are 12 tasks to complete over the next 1 to 366 days. They are not ultra hard, just a small challenge aimed to get yourself out of your comfort zone, make a difference to others and gain a sense of progress for yourself.

Take a moment to print off the challenge chart, get yourself some small stickers and see if you can get 1 or 2 tasks done today. Now there’s a challenge. Are you up for it?