Tips & Insights for Top Performance

New Year’s resolutions, otherwise known as “good intentions,” are those things that are set at the beginning of the year when people feel they can wipe the slate clean and get a fresh start. It is said that 80% of all News Year’s resolutions fail. A survey conducted by Gail Kasper, LLC (www.gailkasper.com) finds that 51% of people don’t have New Year’s resolutions, and of those who do, 79% don’t have a plan to achieve them, leaving a small 9% of Americans serious about achieving their goals from the onset.

The truth is, resolutions can be accomplished. You just have to follow these four P.L.A.N. steps, and you can make your resolutions a success this year!

Simply follow the four-step P.L.A.N.:

P = Prepare

• Write your resolution/goal in the first person, as if it were already done.
• Set a deadline of when you want it accomplished.
• Write down the result of your accomplished goal and the reward you will give yourself when you meet it.
• Now, walk backwards in your mind and write down at least three measurable mini-milestones. Do this so you can check your progress along the way. Prepare your mind and have a visual aid to keep in front of you so that you will be focused and committed in this next year.

 L = List

• What personal behaviors need to change to make this goal a reality?
• What steps will you have to take to make it happen?
• What are the barriers that might prevent you from accomplishing your goal?
• What will you have to stop doing to make your goal a success?
• What is in your control and what is out of your control? What can you do about each?
• What are the “costs” you will have to pay to accomplish this resolution (e.g., if you are trying to lose weight, forfeiting potato chips)?
• What are your strengths and weakness? How can you utilize them or watch out for them?

Review your lists to make sure you are really willing to pay the cost, are committed to changing your behavior, and are ready to do what it will take to follow the plan.

Are you finding you have a lot to do, but never seem to have enough time?

1) Assess how you are spending your time. Here are a few common time eaters to watch out for:

• You have a long list of things to do and focus on all the little thing so you can mark off more things in an hour.
• You are straightening, cleaning or micro-working.
• You are spending hours on e-mail.
• You can’t find things and spend a lot of time looking and discovering things you have not seen in a long time.
• You spend social/idle time on the phone.
• TV, newspaper, errands & shopping (things that don’t contribute to bottom line)
• Maintenance items that absorb time
• Internet, computer games, chat rooms, etc

2) Identify your weakness. Look at what is holding you back from doing the really important things on your list. Some common reasons our “BIG” projects are not accomplished are:

• Lack of planning
• Lack of time
• Overwhelmed with the project
• Lack motivation
• Distractions/Interruptions
• Other priorities
• Emergencies
• Tired & frustrated
• Lack of resources
• Lack of clarity of vision
• Excuses (life)

3) Create a routines and strategies for how you operate.

• Simple and effective Daily Habits.
• 10 min. daily pick-up time.
• Keep a clean desk.
• Check e-mail 3x a day; limit time to 30 min. for each checking.
• Touch it once and put it in its place (file it, toss it, etc.)
• Pick one big project you need to do each day and complete it before doing anything else
• Keep a weekly plan of activities with the top 5 things you will do each day
• Keep regular tools as your fingertips (healthy snacks, water, books, Palm, etc.)
• Develop management systems – templates for things you do often.
• Block one hour a day for quiet time to focus exclusively
• Pick one news source & read as reward for task completed.
• Have a system to organize contacts, calendar and tasks (Outlook is a great tool)

Bottom-line.When you have systems in place and are neat and organized you can get more done. When you do what is important first, it will free your energy to have the big project done and also give plenty of time for all the little things. When you assess, identify and strategize you will easily maximize your productivity!

3.  Write goals in 1^st person, with emotion and as if they were complete. For example:

• I have a balanced and peaceful life working 40 hours a week earning $100K in a field I love, AND have 3 quality hours each day to spend with my family in addition to feeling great because I am healthy (energy), fit (140lbs.) and having fun (weekly activity).
• Accounting Solutions Inc. is proud to be the #1 leader in the Raleigh area to provide a one-stop for all small business accounting needs as evidenced by being the top choice for 40% of companies under 50 and servicing over 500 local companies. (December 2007)

4.  Break it down and develop a plan. If you want to accomplish your goal, break down the yearly goal into monthly milestones. What will it take each month to move you closer to your goal? Each month, break it down into weekly goals. What will it take each week to accomplish your monthly goal? Each week, break it down into daily goals of what it will take to accomplish your week’s goal. While this may seem like a lot of work, it is simply creating a road map for you to follow straight to goal success. It is overwhelming and often difficult to see the measurable tasks that need to happen daily to make your goal happen. By breaking it down, you are able to push and make sure your goal is realistic and attainable.

5.  Review daily. Post it in 3 spots where you can read it daily. Brian Tracey reports the single most effective thing you can do, though, is hand write your goal each day until it is done.

Why set goals?

• increase in energy and excitement as you start moving toward your passions & goals

• more powerful as you are making life happen rather then letting life happen to you.

• greater focus and direction and greater purpose.

What are you aiming for today? What are you excited about? Where do you want to be heading? Craft your goal today!

If you look around at the “successful” people in life, they are setting goals.

Often we are resistant to setting goals. There are many reasons, pessimism that they won’t work, fear of failure, lack of time, lack of thought, etc. The irony is you cannot arrive in a place you have not planned to reach. Either you can let life happen to you or you can be intentional about heading someplace. Flexibility and letting things take their natural course have their place, but if you have no destination picked, you are subject to what life will give you, rather than pursuing with passion what you want.

In the upcoming year, what do you want? Below are 5 tips to make your goals stick:

     1.  Visualize an inspirational goal. As you think back over the past year, what are you proud and excited about? What worked for you? What did not happen that you wanted? What did not work? As you think about the past, begin to think about the future (life, business, etc.). Where would you like to be one year from now? Visualize what it would look like if your life was exactly how you wanted it in one year. What would be happening? What would be different? Allow yourself to visualize your goal. A vision that gets you pumped up and excited is something you will work hard for. Begin by writing your vision of what your goal would look like when it is complete.

    2.  Be clear and concise. Given your visual of what you want your future to look like, what will it take to make that happen. Put this into the form of a SMART goal statement.

• Specific – precise (i.e. 20% over quota)
• Measurable – way to check progress (i.e. 3 trainings)
• Achievable – It is possible. (keep fantasies in check)
• Realistic – Challenge yourself to stretch and grow.
• Timed – Have a completion/ success date.

Why have passion? Is it possible that everyone has a passion or are some people just more “emotional”?

Passion is seen as you look out into the world and selflessly allow yourself to be an instrument, using your gifts and talents. As you do this, you will begin to see your reflection and therefore more readily identify your passion. After you identify your passion, by experiencing the lit fire inside, you are able to focus in and use those gifts and talents more – your purpose and passion are united and drive the most fulfilling adventure of your life!

The reward of living a life of passion is incredible! Once you have tasted it, you will crave for its return. It is an amazing overflowing of your heart, body, mind and soul. You have energy, direction, purpose and focus. As humans we all want this, but sometimes it seems too hard to achieve, so we give up, and decide to just enjoy what life gives us.

“What life gives us?” I ask. Don’t be fooled, we are not here on earth to be floating down a river on an inner tube, just passively taking in what life has to offer. You will not find passion in that inner tube. You might hit some rapids and get a little taste of it here and there, however if you want to know what living a life of passion means and is, you have to go look for it.

Life can dish out some hard knocks, tough lessons, challenges and adversity. How you handle those are up to you. You see, there is a quote that states, “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% what you do with it.” The more you can look at life as a lesson, something to learn from and a gift, the happier you will be. The more you are living in your purpose and passion, the easier it is to see things from this perspective. Do you want to have this synergy in your heart, body, mind and soul? Do you want to be content, overflowing with joy and being of value to the world?

Jack Finds Passion
Jack became tired of stumbling through life. He did some investigation and found out a few things: he enjoys the outdoors, being invigorated by the fresh air, strategic thinking, and intellectualizing. Earlier in life, when he was playing golf he was engaging a few of these passions, an appreciation of nature, strategic thinking, and intellectualizing. He had stopped playing golf because of a lack of time. The irony is that after picking the hobby back up, he seems to have more time and energy.

At work, he also noticed that his job had become dull because he was not reading the statistical reports like he did when he had first started his job. Back then, when he read the reports, it motivated him and got him excited about driving strategies that would save the company time and money. So, he started reading the reports again and found himself more engaged at work. The momentum helped him do things faster, be more positive and actually finish up on time many days so that he could get home to his kids.

Since Jack was getting home on time, there was a little break before dinner when he could go outside and play with the kids: he loved throwing the ball and teaching little Jake how to ride his bike! It even inspired him to equip the family to embrace Saturday morning rides on the local park trail.

As Jack realized that his passions were being outside in nature, using his intellectual abilities and creating solutions and strategies, he found that these same things showed up in every area of life. It was exciting and compelling! He was happy, fulfilled and had found a synergy in every area of his life.

You now know what passion is. You now know the benefit of inviting passion into your life. Take the time to explore your personal passions and to integrate them in your life. Passion is a phenomenal gift. If you want to LIVE life to the fullest and enjoy it along the way, take time to discover your passions. Put them into your daily life. You will find you have time for everything you did before and more.

There once was a man, Jack, who worked very hard in his job. He had gone to school in an area of interest and got a job working in a similar industry. He found a good wife and they had 3 wonderful children. Life was good in his adult years, but he found himself feeling like he was just on the treadmill of life. He got up every morning, he went to a job that he liked but where he longed for a break, some type of long awaited vacation. He had lost most of his hobbies, due to the time restraints of working many hours at his job, balanced with trying to take care of and spend time with his family. The dreams Jack had talked about in his youth (traveling, starting his own business, becoming an armature golfer, winning fantasy football, etc.) were still in the back of his mind, but only faintly. Jack had a successful life by America standards (income, job, home, family, etc), but he did not jump out of bed in the morning: he did not have a spring in his step and he seemed to carry a high level of stress. In general he was happy, but not HAPPY.

This is a story of a man with a great life, but of a man who is lacking PASSION.

What is passion?
Webster defines passion as “a strong liking or desire for or devotion to some activity, object, or concept.”

I define it as: Passion is an internal subconscious emotional calling that fuels the perspective, focus and actions you take as you live life and fulfill your purpose in life.

Passion is not obvious, unlike the ability to throw a football, being a gifted musician or a talented craftsman, or living as an amazing inventor. Passion is not on a conscious level, something that you are thinking about daily and noticing. Passion is more “energetic” in nature and therefore hard to see.

People say they are passionate about their kids, families, hobbies, etc. While these are all admirable, I would say these are interests that bring joy and pleasure. They may also be the tip of your passion or an indicator of your passion. While passion is a common word to describe an emotional state of liking something a lot, the passion we are talking about here is a much bigger concept. Here, it is about the core attributes that drive you and get you excited about life and living.

It is also important to recognize that people often confuse passion with purpose. As I see it, purpose is the vehicle that you ride because of your passion: your purpose is what you do (ex. Playing sports, writing music, reading literature, or parenting.). Passion is the fuel and energy that you use to drive: passion is how you are fueled (ex. by creativity, by problem solving, or by helping people).

Passion is the internal fire burning inside you as a result of using your natural gifts, talents and purpose here on earth. You have passion before you use it, but it is like a match unlit. Passion gets lit when you use your gifts, talents and purpose and results in personal fulfillment and “life in the flow,” where everything works together and every area of your life is filled with joy, contentment, and synergy.

Your perspective on scarcity or prosperity is very important because:

It impacts how you see the world. As explained above, each side promotes either positive or negative thinking. People are naturally more negatively wired (They are. There is some statistic about 75% of all adult conversations are naturally negative – just listen the next time you are out.) Positive people live longer, are less stressed and enjoy life more. So, if you desire less stress and a long and enjoyable life, start thinking through the eyes of prosperity.

It impacts what you receive. Some are skeptical about this, but it is the law of nature. When you live in scarcity and cling onto everything, afraid of loss, you get little and things seem to run out. You attract scarcity. It is uncanny how this works, but it really happens. People get attached and cling to money, time, possessions, and for whatever reason, it is not something that can be held on to. The harder you fight for YOURS and cling to it, the quicker it dissipates.

On the other hand, when you live in and give from prosperity, it is incredible what comes into your life. I choose to see it as blessings from God. It is amazing. When you let go of your agenda and serve others, you are served. When you stop worrying about money and become responsible yet generous, you have plenty. When you volunteer freely of your time and energy you are uplifted and blessed. There are many old adages about this: “Givers Gain”, the Golden Rule, etc. When you can stop and look at what is good, what is right and allow yourself to live in the blessings you have been given, appreciate them and give back, the process continues to flow. When you get caught in fear, negativity and pessimism, life gets tough, fast.

Once you are in the scarcity mode, it can be a challenge to get out. You can get out, though. You just need to be intentional about listening to the tape that is running in your head. Listen to yourself talk and hear what you are saying. Are you saying CAN’T, WON’T, NEVER, ALWAYS, DON’T, etc.? These are signs you are looking at life from scarcity. Stop and ask yourself, “What CAN I do?” “What is true?” “What is possible?” Then do what you can. If you continue to always do what you can, you will start to embrace prosperity thinking and living.

Don’t believe me? Try it. It is amazing

Scarcity and Prosperity are two terms I had not heard of until I entered the coaching world. At first I felt they were worldly concepts of the common pursuit of wealth and possessions… connected with the overused term: Abundance. I soon learned about the truth found in these concepts and see the huge impact our perspectives of them have on everything.

First of all, Scarcity vs. Prosperity is talking about your perspective on the world. Scarcity focuses on what you don’t have and cannot do. It is negative and dwells on how you are limited, held back or unable to move forward as you would like.  It shows up like this:

• Business owner: I can’t do any mailings because it costs to much.
• Mom: I can’t get out of the house because there is no one to watch the kids.
• Unhappy professional: I can’t change jobs because I need the stable income.
• Executive: I can’t hire more people; sales are down.

Prosperity is the flip side of scarcity. It is looking at what you DO have. It is positive, up-beat and solution focused. It finds what IS good and what IS possible. It asks “What CAN I do?” I might sound like this:

• Business owner: Mailings are expensive, but I have a small list of 100 names from the Chamber that I CAN do a series of target mailings for and test their effectiveness.
• Mom: I can get out of the house and take the kids to the park. My spouse is home Friday nights and I can plan to do errands then.
• Unhappy professional: I need stable income and CAN take a few classes to explore other interests while working my current job.
• Executive: Sales are down, but I CAN hire short term contract help to pull through this slump. I can also come and work on the floor 5 hours a week to support the team.