Dance in the rain

It's been a tough week out there. The financial markets and banking problems have been the centre of attention in all the media, and despite my own best efforts in not watching the news on TV, listening to it on the radio or reading the press, I have not been able to avoid it entirely.

A friend emailed me yesterday and described how they had been discussing with their grandmother how it's difficult to move forward in business right now, more using her as a sounding board than anything else, and her response had been really thought provoking: "Life is not about how to survive in the storm, it's about learning how to dance in the rain".

This comment reminded me how much we can learn from those around us who are at the two ends of the lifespan; children and the elderly. Children are so allowing of what happens in the world. They see only possibility and have a ferocious curiousity for discovering new things. The elderly have seen it and done it and know that there is so much more to enjoying life than the trappings we all seem to strive for in this day and age. They know that life is in fact much easier now than it has ever been and they often look back at "the good old days" with fond affection, even though times may have been tougher.

We take so much for granted in this modern world of gadgets and technology. We have luxuries, holidays, cars and homes that earlier generations could have only dreamed of, yet we believe we can't afford everything we want. When you watch a child splashing in the puddles on a rainy afternoon, do they have any idea that we are supposed to be having a tough time and can't afford all those things we say we need? No, they are simply enjoying the moment, learning how to dance in the rain.

I think my friend's grandmother got it right. If we stop trying to survive the storm and just take time to dance in the rain, we may in fact find that life isn't so bad really. We don't have to buy into the idea that times are tough. They just are what they are. We can choose to be miserable and blame the economy, the government and the banks, or we can choose to dance and play in the puddles. I know what I'm going to do!

I'm not participating!

Dr. Ivan Misner, founder of BNI and member of Jack Canfield's "Transformational Leadership Council" encouraged his members last week in his newsletter to state "I'm not participating in a recession!" Quite right too!

We all have a choice about how we feel and I encourage people I work with to observe their own language and change it when they find themselves using negative language or having thoughts that are focused on what may go wrong. Some will criticise this approach and say that one needs to be realistic. So I ask you "what is realistic?"

If realism is allowing oneself to be negatively affected by circumstances outside of them, or by comments someone else makes, then give me the alternative every time.

In their book "The Amazing Power of Deliberate Intent" Esther and Jerry Hicks, or more accurately, the "collective consciousness" called Abraham, asks "why would you want to accept or "face a reality" that is not pleasing when you can create a reality that IS pleasing?"

My view is simply this: if you know that you do have a choice about how you feel, then wouldn't it serve you better to choose a feeling of empowerment and positive energy rather than allow yourself to be drawn into a place of negativity? So, by keeping an eye on the language we use, we can create the positive energy we would prefer, just by changing what we say and the thoughts we think.

So no, I am not participating in a recession and I invite you to make the same choice!

Collaborate for Growth

Much is made of the power of networking and building your network. It is said that you are the sum of the five people you spend most time with.

If this is true, and I believe it is, then it makes sense to surround yourself with like minded people who add value to your life and you in turn add value to theirs.

If you think about it, have you ever found yourself being drained of energy by being in the company of someone who is constantly whining and moaning about how unfair life is, or how everything bad that is apparently happening to them is the fault of someone else?

When you are in this position, what do you do about it? Do you get drawn in and affirm what they are saying? Do you ask them to stop whinging because you don't want to be part of it? Do you walk away and remove yourself from the conversation or do you simply just put up with it and tell yourself that's just the way they are?

Being in business can be a lonely environment, particularly in the early days. Finding people who reflect how you think, who have similar values, who offer complementary services or products to yours, can be a great antedote to the dis-ease of getting involved in the "life's a downer" club. Furthermore, they can motivate and inspire you, support your projects and ideas, become an advocate of your work to others, or indeed form a partnership in which "two heads are better than one", creating a product or service far more powerful than each individual might have created on their own.

So next time you meet someone for the first time consider how you might be aligned and then ask yourself "is there an opportunity to form an alliance that is mutually supportive and potentially profitable, not only in terms of money but also in respect of motivation, inspiration and creation?".

When you do this you will often find that those you might have considered competitors previously, may in fact be your biggest allies.

When great minds come together the possibilities are endless!

Visualise your Success, be clear about it!

All of the great teachers talk about visualising your success using a variety of different methods, tools and techniques.

Some talk about simply setting goals, on the basis that if you don’t know where you want to go, how can you possibly expect to get there?

We hear about SMART goals, that they are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and timebound. Others will invite you to feel how you would when the goal is achieved - sense the emotions; the buzz, excitement, confidence, laughter, celebration and so on. You might imagine the sounds around you, the people and the environment you are in.

We are told that what we resist persists, so focus on what you want, not what you don’t want, as what you focus on you create. It is said you can’t think about what you don’t want to think about, without thinking about it. So you shouldn’t think about not being in debt, you should think about being financially free. You should think about having a wonderful time seeing your relatives after you have landed, not the turbulent air and the storm outside the plane while you’re in the air.

Some teachers invite you to create vision boards or goals books, computer wallpaper backgrounds of your dream home or holiday destination, powerpoint slides and iPod photo albums. Others will have you visualising what you want, in meditation or just quiet reflection. Some will ask you to release on your attachment to a goal or a dream once you have decided it, others will have you list them and read them every day.

Many teachers will have you do a combination of all these things and a variety of others as well.

I’ve used all of these and many others at one time or another and what I am certain about is that you must be absolutely clear on what it is you do want. Where there is doubt or lack of clarity, there is lack of focus. Where there is lack of focus there is a lack of action. Where there is lack of action, there are “unexpected outcomes”.

We cannot predict exactly how our results pan out, but we can predict exactly what actions we will take in the anticipation of certain results. It is far easier to plan the action when we are clear about what we see as being the result. To have that clarity we must visualise our success and be clear about what it is that we want.

I was reminded of the need for clarity earlier this week when creating my goals for the following day. I visualised booking after booking coming through electronically for an event we are promoting just now (see below). We had just implemented the next stage of the marketing plan and I saw in my mind’s eye all these bookings popping up on the screen.

Imagine how great I felt first thing the next morning when I just watched the screen fill up with new booking after new booking. I knew that we had created a great plan, we had implemented it as we had expected and I had visualised the next day’s goals being achieved. What a feeling!

Unfortunately, I had missed a key ingredient in the process – visualising exactly what those bookings looked like. I hadn’t considered who the delegates might be, or where they had come from, how we could give them great value, what they needed from the seminar and so on.

So what was the actual result? ....my web design people TESTING a development we had asked for. Booking after booking saying test, test, test!!

My SUCCESS TIP this week therefore is just this:

VISUALISE YOUR SUCCESS, and BE CLEAR about what you want, otherwise don’t be surprised when you get an unexpected outcome!



If you want to know more about how leadership coaching and training can help you improve your results in business contact us here.

Prosper in an economic downturn

There is so much talk about the economy right now, even to the extent that a friend of mine sang “Happy Birthday” to the “Credit Crunch” at a meeting last week!

It is said that everybody is unhappy about the current economic situation.

Well, not everybody…

We’ve teamed up with Martin Laschkolnig who helps people to double their income and double their time off at the same time.

And - he says that anyone can do it within the next two years! Now, how about that?

Martin is the European representative of Jack Canfield who you might know as the co-author of "Chicken Soup for the Soul" and who was featured in the mega success movie and book "The Secret". He also authored the bestselling book "The Success Principles" and Martin is teaching exactly these principles.

Check it out at: http://www.adayforsuccess.com/

Martin is coming to join me in Northern Ireland on 27th September and we will bring you the core of these principles. We’ve packed it up in a way that is engaging and experiential. You will learn right on the spot how you can apply these principles to your life right from the next day on - to create the success and balance that you really want.

And, if you were to increase your income and your time off by only 20 to 30 %, wouldn't that be worth it?

Go to http://www.adayforsuccess.com/ and see what Jack Canfield says about Martin.

Wishing you success!

Simon.


P.S. We are still offering an early bird rate until 15th August, so don't wait any longer and check it out at: http://www.adayforsuccess.com/

What do you stand for?

I received an email this morning from my coach in Sydney and it literally stopped me in my tracks. It contained a story which I decided to share with you a little further below.

We talk about taking 100% responsibility for our lives. We say that the way we feel, the results we get, the responses we get from others around us, is all a choice. We discuss getting out of the blame game and creating the life we want and the goals we desire.

The story simply had me consider “what do I choose to stand for?” regardless of what I have achieved yet, or may want to achieve in the future, despite the successes I have created or the feedback I have used when outcomes have been “unexpected”.

Many people in business try and sell what they have to sell without consideration for what people actually need or want. Some businesses “go for the close” before asking their customers “what do you need?” or “how can I help you?” Occasionally businesses will force their product or service on someone and they may even buy, once.

Many businesses are so focused on their “competition” they forget to see how they can add value to their own customers. They are constantly looking for the opportunity to “beat the competition” rather than look to improve what they do for benefit of being better than they themselves are right now. Perhaps the only competition we have in business is ourselves?

But what do these businesses stand for? What do you stand for in your business, your life?

This story may help…Would you have made the same choice?

Two Choices

At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves children with learning disabilities, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended.

After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question:'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is done with perfection.Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do.Where is the natural order of things in my son?'

The audience was stilled by the query.

The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, who was mentally and physically disabled comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people treat that child.'Then he told the following story:

Shay and I had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?'

I knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but as a father I also understood that if my son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.

I approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning.'

Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a team shirt. I watched with a small tear in my eye and warmth in my heart. The boys saw my joy at my son being accepted.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three.

In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as I waved to him from the stands.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again.

Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat.

At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game?Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball.

However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make contact.

The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher.

The game would now be over.

The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman.

Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game.

Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, 'Shay, run to first!Run to first!'

Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.

Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!'

Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball, the smallest guy on their team, who now had his first chance to be the hero for his team.He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intentions so he, too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's head.

Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home. All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'

Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!‘Shay, run to third!'

As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!'

Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the game for his team.

'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world'.

Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making me so happy, coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!

And the foot note that came with this story:

We all send thousands of jokes through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.

If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're probably sorting out the people in your address book who aren't the 'appropriate' ones to receive this type of message Well, the person who sent you this believes that we all can make a difference.We all have thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural order of things.'

So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people present us with a choice:Do we pass along a little spark of love and humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little bit colder in the process?

A wise man once said every society is judged by how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.

You now have two choices: 1. Delete 2. Forward

May your day, be a Shay Day.

I receive many stories and video clips every day, many if which will invite the reader to forward it to other people. For me, my choice is to ignore that invitation as I, like you no doubt, don’t want to add to people’s inbox just for the sake of it.

Today however, I made a choice. This choice is based simply on the question I asked at the top of this article “what do I choose to stand for?”

Imagine a business world where people made choices like the baseball team in the story. Imagine a business world where everyone truly wanted to support each other to be successful rather than just “cut each other’s throats” for the sake of the quick sale. Imagine a business world that believed in “win/win” in the true spirit of the principle so well described by Stephen Covey in his book. Imagine your business if everyone you encountered tried to help you be successful and you in turn tried to help them.

Would you prefer to go to work each day knowing that everyone you meet wants to help and support you to win, or do you prefer the cut throat competitive world of mistrust and deviousness that results in win/lose or lose/win?

So ultimately, you really do have a choice and my success tip this week is simply this:

Ask yourself, “What do I choose to stand for?”

I trust you do indeed have a “Shay day” ;o)


If you want to know more about how leadership coaching and training can help you improve your results in business we will be happy to discuss this with you. Contact us here.

See what you want, get what you see

It’s been a big week!...or more precisely ten days. I was at a leadership training event the weekend before last during which we studied some of the world’s most influential leaders, past and present; Martin Luther King Jr, Nelson Mandela and Mother Theresa. I was inspired by the vision of these people, a clear unrelenting energy towards what they wanted. They could see a different world; a world of equality and understanding; a world of peace and forgiveness; a world where people need not be poor or mistreated; a world where one person could really make a difference if they stayed true to their purpose.

Great leaders have a vision. Great leaders know what they want. Great leaders do whatever it takes to make their dreams a reality. They inspire people around them. They motivate and excite. They stand up for what they believe to be right. They take action and they engage people to do the same. King, Mandela and Mother Theresa did all of these things and they achieved so much.

We learnt to think big, as great leaders think. We learnt to get out of our own way, as great leaders do. We learnt that the only thing stopping us be, do, have or create the success we wanted was our own limited thinking, beliefs and boundaries we had created. We learnt that we had so much more to offer, if we chose to step up and be real.

Whilst reflecting on the learnings, and there were so many more than just these few, I was reminded of an “education slot” a friend of mine had delivered at a recent meeting I attended in which he had identified his 11 top tips for success in business.

Many of his tips relate to being a great leader in business and whilst we all may not wish to be so public in our demonstration of leadership as those world leaders we studied in Dublin, it is my belief that great businesses are run by great leaders.

So this week’s Success Tips, courtesy of Jeremy Cruiks (and my interpretation of his meaning), are:

Have clear objectives and a business plan – Get clear about where you want to be and plan how and what needs to happen to get you there

Employ the right staff – Create the right support team and resources around you and they will help you achieve what you want

Make it easy for the staff to do the right thing – Create systems, processes and provide training and development opportunities for everyone so that they feel valued, respected and have influence in the success

Do even the small things well – Attention to detail is vital, even the little things

Keep your promises – Be honest and act with integrity. The way you do one thing is the way you do everything.

Use experts when you need to – Empower others and relinquish control when appropriate. Outsource to those who are expert in their respective fields. 1+1 = 11; the team is greater than any individual.

Create a positive company culture – Get clear about why you exist, your purpose, vision, mission, and create standards that everyone lives up to.

Know your figures – Keep your finger on the financial pulse.

Turnover is ego, profit is king – Keep your keenest eye on the margins and profitability. Manage costs carefully and invest wisely in those things that can provide a measurable return on that investment, e.g. training and marketing.

Diversify – too specialised, too exposed – Be open to the possibilities and don’t get too emotionally attached to one product or service.

Remember cash flow – Keep on top of credit control and manage your accounts well.

So, successful businesses are created by great leaders. Great leaders are those that inspire others through their absolute determination so that they see what they want and get what they see!

Jeremy Cruiks is an Independent Financial Advisor and partner of Pensions, Mortgages and More. According to Jeremy and his team: “Independent financial advice means having an advisor acting for YOUR interests and one who can access products from the whole of the available market. Experience is also invaluable when dealing with mortgage lenders, insurance companies and investment companies. As IFAs we must give you the most suitable advice given your own set of circumstances”

If you want to know more about how leadership coaching and training can help you improve your results in business we will be happy to discuss this with you. Contact us here.