| “If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people together to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea”
– Antoine de Saint-Exupery
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Posts Tagged ‘commitment’
The power of goals
Monday, October 24th, 2011Setting Goals & Completing Them
Monday, October 10th, 2011| “The more intensely we feel about an idea or a goal, the more assuredly the idea, buried deep in our subconscious, will direct us along the path to its fulfillment.” - Earl Nightingdale
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Looking Forward – Light Bulb Moment #1
Wednesday, October 5th, 2011I coach leaders from sunup to sundown Monday through Friday and have been doing it for more than 8 years.
For some reason, this year has been filled with tons of “Light bulb” moments for me. In these moments, I have had some profound breakthroughs that I know to be absolute truths. I am confident that if you internalize these lessons, you will see great results.
It’s almost as if as soon as I hit the 8 year mark Obi Wan Kenobi sent me a text saying, “CJ, the force is strong within you…”
I’ll share some from time to time in this space.
I’ll start with one that hit me especially hard this week. I’ve noticed that some leaders want to focus on what went wrong during the past week, month, year, etc. Conversely, I have others who will briefly learn from their experiences and then go forward.
Guess which leader has more success?
I’ll admit that it’s tempting to replay past events over and over as if this obsession will change the past.
It won’t.
There is zero value in dwelling on your mistakes.
Leave the past in the past.
CJ
Problems vs. Solutions
Wednesday, July 6th, 2011Last night at dinner, I placed a bunch of broccoli on my daughter’s plate. Her immediate response, was the same as always – “That’s too much, I could never eat all that broccoli!”
I countered with my classic – “I have a lot of faith in you Corinne, you can do anything you chose.”
I’m OK with my daughter seeing a plate full of broccoli and seeing a problem with no possible solution – she’s 4 years old. However, at some point ( I think I’ll wait until her 5th birthday) I want her to change the way she thinks and recognize that she is responsible for finding a solution to life’s challenges.
Unfortunately, most people still approach problems like my 4 year old. They see every difficulty as an insurmountable challenge and instead of looking for the solution they spend all of the energy putting together a list of excuses why they won’t be successful.
The simple truth is that there are two types of people in this world – those that find problems and those that find solutions.
Guess which one makes more money and has more success?
Which one are you?
CJ McClanahan is the Founder of reachmore, which teaches small business owners how to build a business that runs without them. For more resources on business leadership, please visit reachmore’s seminars
Are you neglecting to execute?
Monday, June 6th, 2011| “Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.” – Juhann Wolfgang Von Goethe
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Practice, Practice, Practice
Monday, August 16th, 2010A few weeks ago I completed one of the best books I have read this year called “Talent is Overrated” by Geoff Colvin.
Colvin argues (persuasively, I might add) that the difference between the remarkable achievers in the world and everyone else comes down to one thing – practice.
If you want to be the great musician you need to practice several hours a day seven days a week. You want to be the next Tiger Woods (let’s focus on his record in golf, not with the ladies)? It would be helpful for you to have a dad who is an actual drill sergeant start you playing the game when you are 2 years old.
That got me thinking – how does this apply to my work with executives and business owners?
There are a handful of behaviors that will almost always lead to success in business. They include – always exceeding expectations, making more prospecting calls, setting clear expectations for your staff, etc. Unfortunately, most of the clients and prospects I work with always want to focus on something new instead of mastering any of the fundamentals.
For example, I have met tons of salespeople who are in a non-stop quest for a “silver bullet” lead generation strategy that will allow them to eliminate prospecting from their daily schedule. Guess what? It doesn’t exist. If you want to increase your sales you have to prospect – period.
Steven Covey has a great quote – “To know and not to do is really not to know.” In other words, just because you understand the basics for improving your business it doesn’t mean a thing unless you implement these simple tactics.
Before you make an investment in a new marketing, operations or leadership strategy ask yourself the following question – “How am I doing with the basics?” Maybe it’s time for you to practice, practice, practice.
CJ McClanahan is the Founder of reachmore, which provides leadership coaching for small business and executives. Email CJ at cjm@goreachmore.com for the latest on reachmore’s revolutionary executive coaching program, Summit.
The Great Shake Up
Wednesday, July 28th, 2010The other day as I was flipping through the channels, I saw a commercial for the most ridiculous item I had ever seen in my entire life – The Shake Weight.
The commercial featured a handful of guys, who probably worked out 12 – 15 hours a day, shaking this ridiculous looking weight in their hands. At first, I thought it was a joke, but I soon realized that this was a serious advertisement for an actual product.
I remember thinking “Surely no one is stupid enough to buy this idiotic gadget, then stand in their living room and shake themselves silly until they get ripped muscles.”
But, then I saw the magic phrase that convinced me that this product would be a hit – “instant results”. The maker of this silly tool claimed that in just 6 minutes a day you too could look like the guys in the video.
We are a nation full of people that are absolutely addicted to immediate gratification. We want to put in as little effort as possible to achieve amazing results in every aspect of our lives.
I have some bad news for you. That’s not the way it works.
If you want great relationships, a healthy body, a solid personal financial statement and smarter kids it’s going to take a lot of work.
There is no such thing as a short cut or a quick fix.
I just finished a great book called Talent is Overrated, by Geoff Colvin who argued that the most successful and talented people in the world were not born that way. Tiger Woods wasn’t born with innate golf skills. Nor did he buy a magical instructional golf video after watching an infomercial that turned his game around. Colvin argues (persuasively) that like all great achievers Tiger Woods became the best golfer in the world because he outworked everyone else.
So, then next time you are tempted to buy a product or service that guarantees immediate results, resist the urge.
Remember, success comes from a handful of behaviors practiced over time until they become a habit.
There are no short cuts.
CJ McClanahan is the Founder of reachmore, which provides leadership coaching for small business and executives. Email CJ at cjm@goreachmore.com for the latest on reachmore’s revolutionary executive coaching program, Summit.
The Rule
Wednesday, June 9th, 2010I have a “to do” list. It is related to my quarterly goals which are a subset of my 2012 objectives.
Like most, I get off track from time to time and wonder if I set the wrong goals.
Maybe.
However, when all is said and done, what is real reason that I set out to accomplish these daily to-do’s?
That is the question. In fact it may be the only question that matters.
Is my goal to have more checks on my “to-do” list than anyone else? Is it to make more money? Have more clients?
Something tells me that you probably face the same questions on a daily basis.
And if you answer is that you want more money, more clients and more stuff that is OK. As long as these things provide fulfillment to your question (What is the reason I do what I do?).
However, experience tells me that it is unlikely that the acquisition of more money, clients and things will lead to any satisfaction.
So, what will?
I am certain that it is different for everyone. Nevertheless, this week I would like to suggest that you try an experiment.
This week, let the following question guide your daily activity – “How can I make a positive contribution in the life of someone else?”
Give it a week, I promise you won’t regret the investment of putting the needs of others before your own.
Priorities
Wednesday, May 19th, 2010On Tuesday evenings, I stay late at the office to make some progress on my book. (By the way, if a draft isn’t complete by June 30th I have committed to getting the name Josh Miles tattooed on my left bicep. It’s a long story that involves 2 drinks (I typically stop at 1) at a Christmas party.)
Every time I begin working on the book, I am completely committed to staying until at least 10 or 11pm to maximize the amount of writing that gets done. However, I have yet to do it once and here’s why. As soon as the clock hits 8:15pm I realize that if I don’t go home immediately, I will not get to put my kids to bed which involves reading books, prayers and the final “tuck in”.
Last night was no different except for the fact that my daughter (Corinne, 3 yrs) had been out of town at her grandparents since Saturday. As soon as I got home, shut the door and begin my way upstairs, I heard a joyous “Daddy’s Home!” from both of the kids. My daughter literally jumped into my arms from near the top of the stairs, looked at me and said, “I’m so glad my daddy’s home, I missed you!”
At times I wonder if this silly need to tuck them in every night is really practical. Am I missing out on 6-8 hours of additional work each week that could propel my business?
Then, I have a daughter jump 3 stairs into my arms and I realize that there is no place I would rather be than with my family.
However, I will admit that it’s not always an easy decision. Just like everyone else, I really want my business to grow. But, I realize that I can’t do it all and I need to prioritize what’s important.
How about you? What do your priorities look like?
No Pain, Lots of Gain
Thursday, March 25th, 2010One of Tony Dungy’s sons has a genetic condition that prevents him from feeling pain. In his book, Quiet Strength, Tony tells stories about his son running into walls, falling down, and getting right back up as if nothing ever happened.
What would you do as a business leader if you knew that no matter what you did, you would not feel pain from it?
The fear of pain has prevented me from doing a ton of fun and potentially successful things. My parents call me an adrenaline junkie (check out my adventures on www.goreachmore.com), but I beg to differ. I still have not gone hang gliding, mountain climbing, or bungee jumping, mainly because I am afraid of how much it is going to hurt. I have also held back business investment, personal investment, and giving my “all” because I know that one of the costs of doing each of those things is pain.
My friend Annie just got back from a one year trip around the world, and came back with this picture:
This is a picture of a man celebrating during the Vegetarian Festival in Phuket, Thailand (do NOT ask me how to pronounce that city… ). The Buddhists become vegetarians for 9 days each year, and the Monks go into a trance that allows them to feel no pain when they stick stuff in their cheeks, walk on coals, and climb up ladders made of knives. Annie almost lost it when she turned around and saw that the guy next to her was sharpening his axe on his tongue, while blood dripped down his chest.
Now, don’t go getting extreme on me, but there are a couple of great points for business leadership that we can glean from Annie’s adventure:
1 – Focus on the Big Picture – When facing a potentially painful situation that stands in the way of you hitting your goal, focus on why you are doing what you are doing, and not on the obstacle. When I walked on fire with Tony Robbins, he taught us to keep our eyes forward and our brains thinking ‘cool moss’. What are you focused on?
2 – Meditate, Visualize, and Journal Regularly – The Monks who were in trance got that way through extensive meditation and visualization. They set their R.A.S. (for more on this, come to a Launch class…), so that they weren’t focused on the pain – they were focused on the outcome.
3 – Think Bigger – What would you do if you knew that you were able to withstand the negative consequences of getting there? Don’t allow yourself to be limited by your beliefs of what is possible. You can do anything!
Jamar Cobb-Dennard is the Vice-President of Business Development for Reachmore, which provides leadership coaching for small business and executives. Email Jamar at jamar@goreachmore.com for the latest on Reachmore’s newest seminar, Launch.