| “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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Posts Tagged ‘focus’
Setting Goals & Completing Them
Monday, October 10th, 2011Looking 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
Pay Attention
Wednesday, February 2nd, 2011
I often joke that business owners all have ADD and that I should serve Ritalin shakes at my workshops.
It seems as though every day we are introduced to a new method for absorbing information and data. There is an “App” for everything and these technological innovations satisfy our need for immediate gratification.
So, the question becomes, are we paying attention to the right things?
Does all of this information make us better leaders, business owners, friends, parents and siblings?
I am not sure.
However, I do know that the brain can only handle so much and perform effectively.
What are you focused on today? Does it bring value to your business?
If it doesn’t, why do it?
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
Tune Your Brain to Success
Monday, January 17th, 2011I finally watched Inception – the 2010 blockbuster film that Leonardo DiCaprio starred in. I liked it. The special effects reminded me of The Matrix, and the heady plot tickled my nerdy brain.
If you haven’t seen it, the movie is basically about a group of “scientists” who enter people’s dreams to steal and implant ideas into their heads.
During the first 1/3 of the movie, the characters mention that the subconscious is what controls us, and is stronger than our conscious mind.
I think about this truth every morning while I get ready for work. What we see, hear, and experience is imprinted into our subconscious, which eventually comes to the surface as the new realities that we create. Long story short, what you put in comes out.
That’s why I stopped listening to rap music (as often) in the morning. All of the talk about killing people, having illicit sex, and cursing, started to get into my psyche. Someone would cut me off in the McDonalds line on Saturday morning, and I would begin to pull my “gat” out to bust a “cap”, and then would quickly remember that I am not gangsta.
What I started listening to instead were auto-suggestion tracks; which are positive affirmation statements set to music. The one I have been listening to lately is Today is the Day, by Bryan Meyers and Tony Scelzo. This is the hippest auto-suggestion track that I have found that tells me that I am going to be “successful” and “conquer my day”, over and over again.
If you truly want to tune your mind for success, I would start my training your subconscious by listening to auto-suggestion audio at least once a day. With time, you will begin to notice that the positive affirmations will automatically come into your conscious mind throughout the day.
Your brain will appreciate it. The encouraging thoughts will be a nice change from the gangsta stuff that’s usually there.
Jamar Cobb-Dennard is the Vice-President of Business Development for reachmore, which teaches small business owners how to build a business that runs without them. For more resources on business leadership, please visit http://goreachmore.com/blog.
What can you do in 31 Days? By: Scott Manning
Tuesday, December 7th, 2010I find it silly that many entrepreneurs I know lazily coast through the end of the year. They use the Holidays as excuse, ‘no-ones-buying’, or not enough time, or why start something new now, etc.
When they ought to be racing to get the most out of what’s left. Think about it, if you’d like to willingly hand over about $8 for every $100 you earn, then I know some people who’d be happy to take it from you. Because that’s what it’s like giving up 1/12 of your year.
Now’s the time to kick it into high speed, put the pedal to the medal, because EVERYBODY’s buying something. And even if your product or service isn’t much of a ‘holiday item’ there’s a lot more you can do. Everybody knows you run faster when you see the finish line for this 12 months, you don’t slow down.
Now, next week, I’m going to give you 12 specific things you can do, in honor of the upcoming 12 days of Christmas – this week, just some things to think about.
1. The most universal ‘reason why’ and conversation in people’s heads – The Holidays
2. The most obvious and real Deadline, the end of the year – or Christmas
3. The perfect time for renewals, upsells, and upgrades – great for fear of price increase
4. Best of All, it’s the perfect time for something New – everybody’s looking for it and wants it
Simply, use what you’ve got, the asset of the Calendar, but whatever you do, don’t slow down.
Sure, once in a while there’s good reason to NOT do something…
For example in most industries it’s a terrible idea to have a seminar in the middle of December. And sending a bunch of direct mail to Professional Practices who might take extended vacations across Christmas and New Years is also a waste.
But, doing nothing. Bad idea, of which you will not feel the consequences of it until long after the Holidays, about the time your credit card bill comes in January when you were too busy shopping instead of stocking up on ideas and money.
Oh, spend, spend, spend, but don’t forget that your primary responsibility is to SELL, SELL, SELL!
What should you be doing, right now, that December’s here?
Inspire Others with Your Presence
Wednesday, September 1st, 2010Jenny just bought a ridiculously awesome brand-new Ford Taurus SHO. The car has heated seats, air conditioned seats, full navigation, DVD player, retractable rear sun shade, 21-speaker surround sound, blue tooth telephone capability, automatic rain-sensing windshield wipers, blind-spot indicators, and a host of other sweet options. Oh, and by the way, the seats massage your legs and back while you drive!!!
She let me drive this beast for the first time two weeks ago, and I had so much trouble paying attention! I mean, every other second some automated system was starting up, a light was flashing, or a sound came on alerting you to something. It was so distracting that I had trouble driving! Who knew a seat massager could cause an accident!
I especially had trouble paying attention to Jenny. While every one of the “loaded” options was doing its thing, Jenny was also trying to carry on a conversation with me, and for the life of me, I barely heard what she was saying.
That’s when I remembered that I had to get present. I couldn’t just live in the distractions that were around in the car, or survive only with the thoughts in my head. I had to get present with every word that was coming out of Jenny’s mouth in order to inspire and connect with her.
Life can be one big distraction. You have so many conflicting priorities and “shoulds” that you want to get done. Life can be so distracting that we forget to be present with the people who run our businesses, with the strangers we meet, and with the families who love us so dearly.
Be present. Feel everything your body is touching. Listen to every sound in your environment. Connect with your energy and focus your attention on the human beings who are around you.
If you truly want to be an inspiration to your environment, and connect with other people, be present.
Jamar Cobb-Dennard is the Vice-President of Business Development for reachmore, which teaches small business owners how to build a business that runs without them. For more resources on business leadership, please visit http://blog.goreachmore.com.
Think like a Dog
Monday, June 21st, 2010When I used to let Jenna’s dog, Sadie, out to the bathroom, she used to doddle on her way back in. I would call her and call her, and she would never come back inside. As soon as I went outside after her, and got close enough to grab her collar, she would shake me off and start running toward the door!
Dogs are special creatures, and I often wonder what they are thinking. I must be a high “I” (for more on what it means to be a high “I”, email me at jamar@goreachmore.com), because I actually care what dogs are thinking about me. Especially Sadie when she was defiant and kind of rude!
Animal cognition researcher, William Roberts, says that dogs only think in the moment. They do not have episodic memory, so they can’t think behind or ahead of what is currently happening. They can perceive and follow a command that you taught them in the past, but can’t remember how they learned it. Basically, dogs live in the moment.
That’s why they are excited every time you come home from work. That’s why they’re always in a good mood. That’s why they always do everything “all out”.
Now, they do have the ability to perceive the meaning of something through circadian oscillators, which are regular fluctuations of hormones, temperature, and neural activity. That’s why they like to eat around the same time, and get a stupid grin on their faces when you bring out that orange ball they love to play with.
I think we should take a page from the book of dog living, and live entirely in the moment. Forget about the mistakes, pain, and successes of the past. Live in the moment. Go all out in what you are doing right now. Don’t worry about the future – lamenting about the stresses or loneliness to come, just focus on your energy and intention on this very moment.
Your dog is always happy and productive. Act like him, and you can be too!
Jamar Cobb-Dennard is the Vice-President of Business Development for Reachmore, which provides leadership coaching for small business and executives. For more resources on business leadership, please visit http://blog.goreachmore.com.