| “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 ‘discipline’
The power of goals
Monday, October 24th, 2011Problems 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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Is 2011 Going to Be Different?
Wednesday, November 24th, 2010After 7 years of coaching hundreds of business owners and professionals, I have heard my fair share of nonsense.
Here’s one of my favorites…. “Next year is going to be different! Next year is going to the year where I change my habits, lose weight, make more sales calls, plan my week in advance, blah, blah, blah….”
And then it happens, January 1st hits and most people jump right back into the same behavior that got them their current results.
Asked why they didn’t change, I almost always here “I’m too busy…”
Aren’t you tired of making the same excuses? Isn’t it time to change?
How is 2011 going to be different for you?
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.
Click here to learn more about my new book – Thrive.
Click here to learn more about the next Reach Leadership Series Class. We are featuring Dr. Greg Sipes!
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.
Quiet
Monday, March 1st, 2010Over the past several years I have had some success in a variety of endeavors – both personal and professional.
However, I have struggled to follow through with a very simple habit – meditation.
I have purchased different CD’s and read books on the topic, but have yet to figure out how to make it work.
Until this year.
For whatever reason, during the first 2 months of 2010, I have been able to set aside 10-15 minutes a day, 3-4 days per week to meditate.
Before you get too impressed, this “meditation” involves nothing more than closing my eyes and listening to the “Calm Meditation” station on Pandora in my office. It’s not like I climb to the top of a mountain and burn incense.
But, for 10 – 15 minutes I am without email, phone, staff or clients.
More importantly, this is a short period of time each day where I am allowing myself to accomplish nothing at all.
I will admit that I am only able to go a minute or two without drifting back into a work issue. However, this minute or two is a huge accomplishment for a person who feels the need to fill every waking moment with a valuable task.
Here’s why meditation – the quieting of the mind – is important to me.
I have noticed that I am the best coach, salesman, speaker, leader, friend, father and husband when I am able to slow down my thoughts and concentrate intensely on the subject at hand.
I realize that this type of concentration doesn’t come naturally to me at all. As a result, I am attempting to train my brain to be quiet for just a few moments each day to help me develop this skill.
The most interesting thing about this journey is that I actually find myself looking forward to this exercise each day.
Maybe it’s true that sometimes best way to speed up is to first slow down.
CJ McClanahan
reachmore
(317) 576-8492
www.goreachmore.com
How to Create Abundance Now!
Thursday, October 15th, 2009“Just throw it in the bag,” says the rap star over the speakers in my Z4.
No, the rapper wasn’t robbing the store – he was buying a bunch of expensive stuff with no regard to the price.
I have been challenged this week with what T. Harv Ecker calls my ‘financial blueprint’; which is my learned attitude about money.
My financial blueprint tells me to save every penny for a rainy day, be modest with my expenditures, and to never act like I have a significant amount of money. Many in the coaching industry would tell you the same thing.
The odd thing is that the day never seems rainy enough to spend the money that I have been saving, and I always feel bad when I spend money. Is this the way to live – always feeling bad about money?
I would rather live in abundance. I am not talking about spending my money frivolously on “bling” and $1000 jeans – I am referring to abundance of happiness through planned spending and spiritual wealth.
I realized this while dropping $100 on dinner for two this Saturday… Calamari, wine, steak – the works! I also witnessed the impact of an abundant attitude when I saw 3 teenagers eating away in the same expensive restaurant with a STACK of True Religion and Abercrombie& Fitch bags behind them. These young ladies were inadvertently living three principles of having a wealthy financial blueprint. They realized that money is temporal and that we should enjoy it; that givers gain, and when you let go of money, more will eventually come; and that by spending approximately $2000 on clothing and a fancy meal created a belief in them that they could afford it. Even though they were spending their auto executive parents money (I was eating in a ritzy suburb of Detroit), these young girls will always believe that they are worth “more” from a financial standpoint.
I am NOT saying that you need to blow all of your money and quit saving. What I am saying is that when you “act as if”, you are able to imprint your mind with the reality of wealth. You can “act as if” financially as well as spiritually.
The same thing works emotionally or spiritually. As I wrote this blog, that very same Z4 that was telling me to “just throw it in the bag”, was being broken into. The thieves sliced the cloth top with a knife and crawled in with their muddy shoes to ransack my car for $5 in change and a Maglight. The only thought that kept me sane while enduring the windy 5 hour drive home from Detroit was the fact that no matter what someone did to me, I am going to live in emotional and spiritual abundance. My life would still be full and inspiring to others, and NO ONE can steal that.
So, spend a chunk of change on a fantastic gourmet meal, or go test drive that new Range Rover or Mercedes. Flip the script on a bad situation and focus on what is at the core of your being. Tell that store clerk to “just throw it in the bag” – you are only creating an easier pathway for your emotional and financial success!
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.
Just Do It
Thursday, June 11th, 2009Last week, I started working with a new client.
As with all new clients, prior to our first meeting, I asked them to fill out a few documents that told me a little about their business.
Over the past 5 years, I have reviewed many of these documents.
Typically, I can tell that my new client has spent about 10 minutes putting their thoughts together and this requires me to spend the majority of our first meeting reviewing their less than adequate answers.
Every now and then, I get a new client that actually does exactly what I requested and responds with the documents completely filled out with thoughtful answers.
It makes me smile.
In addition, I also know that this client will have more success than the others.
What I have found over the past 5 years is that building a successful business isn’t all that complex.
Depending on your business model, I could probably recommend 3-4 books that would contain almost everything you needed to know to grow sales and profits.
But you won’t do it.
The difference between successful and average business owners isn’t knowledge. We all have access to all the answers.
The difference is having the discipline to do what you know you need to do.
Very few people have it.
We have all sat in a meeting and been reminded of a very simple behavior (following up on all estimates, exercising, going to bed before midnight, etc.) that we should be practicing on a regular basis but aren’t. We smack ourselves on the head and say “I’ve got to stop/start doing that!”
It’s not called rocket science.
It’s called discipline.
I would recommend that during the next 90 days you pick 1 habit that you would like to develop and focus exclusively on making 1 change.
That’s it. Don’t over think the challenge.
Nike® has it right – Just do it.