Posts Tagged ‘Habits’

Perspective
Monday, May 10th, 2010

This past weekend I visited my hometown of Denver, CO for a speaking engagement.

I scheduled an extra day in Denver because that is where I grew up and I wanted to visit some old friends. Before I checked into my hotel, I decided to swing by the old neighborhood. On my drive, I began to reminisce about my street, my home, the park where I played soccer and my old school. These were great memories.

As I turned onto my street, initially I thought I had the wrong block.  The houses were a lot closer together than I remembered. In addition, they all seemed so tiny. But, there it was, 1913 South Leyden Street, I was in the right place. The neighbors probably thought I was nuts, but I parked, got out and looked around. I clearly remember mowing this lawn and thinking that it took forever. My best friend Ricky’s house was no more than a couple hundred feet from mine.  Back in 1982 it seemed like a mile away. Pulling away from the curb I called my mom and told her that all I could remember was this big house with a big yard on a big street. It was hard for me to believe that my happy memories were from a neighborhood that I now hardly recognized.

What happened?

I’ll tell you what happened between 1982 and 2010, my perspective changed. Your happiness and contentment with life is directly related to this lens called perspective. The clearer your lens the more satisfied you will be and this satisfaction is a building block for living an extraordinary life.

Unfortunately, most of us have a warped perspective. No matter what we achieve in life it isn’t enough.

I’ve got a great strategy that will help you to gain some perspective. Give back to someone in need. Visit a homeless shelter or one of many other of non-profits in your area.

You’ll be amazed at quickly your perspective will change.

On that note, I am pleased to announce that the Reach™ Foundation is announcing our second annual campaign to support the Shepherd Community.  This summer we are going to provide back to school clothes for more than 50 middle and high school students.  Click here to find out how you can help!

CJ McClanahan
reachmore
www.GoReachMore.com
(317) 576-8492

“We are what we repeatedly do. Success then is not an act but a habit.” – Aristotle

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Posted in Business, Life |

Daily Victories
Thursday, April 29th, 2010

What do you expect of yourself?  Do you think these expectations would be different if you lived in a remote area of the world with little access to outside information? What if you lived in 1963?

I would argue that as we learn more about all that we could accomplish, the more we expect to accomplish.

For example, when is the last time you picked up a newspaper and saw an article about an individual 10 years younger than you who is the CEO of a company with 300 employees? Shortly after putting the paper down, you wonder why you have accomplished so little. Or how about turning on the TV for a few minutes and flipping through the channels?  Chances are that you will see at least one commercial filled with perfectly beautiful people challenging you to get rock hard abs, whiter teeth or a full head of hair.

In a hyper competitive world, people feel the need to hype their accomplishments at all times. This non-stop promotion has created an environment where sitting still for even a minute is frowned upon. I don’t care if you were just named CEO of the largest company in the world.

While I am not certain that I am a big fan of this environment, I do know that I have no choice but to join the crowd. In addition, dedication to some sort of self improvement is a valuable characteristic.  There is no standing still – you are either getting better or getting worse.

The problem is that most of us expect victory overnight and unless we achieve it, we are never happy.  If you read an article about a young CEO you want to be a CEO the next day. Nothing else will suffice.

Unfortunately, unless your last name is Trump, you can’t become a CEO in a day and this means that you are setting yourself up for constant failure and frustration.

I have a suggestion for you.

Instead of set such unrealistic expectations of yourself, why not break it down into daily victories? What about looking into an MBA program before you go to bed tonight instead of going from a sales rep to a corporate tycoon.

The interesting thing about success is that it is typically accompanied by momentum. Get some wins under your belt on a daily basis and you will be amazed at all that you can accomplish over time.

CJ McClanahan
reachmore
www.GoReachMore.com
(317) 576-8492

“We are what we repeatedly do. Success then is not an act but a habit.” – Aristotle

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Posted in Business, Habits, Life |

Quiet
Monday, March 1st, 2010

Over 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

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Posted in Business, Habits, Life |

Hard Work
Thursday, January 21st, 2010

Do you know how to lose weight?

You guessed it – eat healthy and exercise regularly.

In fact, simply put, you will lose weight if you burn more calories than you consume on a daily/weekly/monthly basis.

It really is that simple.

If it’s that simple, do you need to read a book to learn how to lose weight?

Of course you don’t.

However, if you visit Amazon.com and search the word “diet” you come up with more than 400,000 results!!

400,000 books have been published (and purchased many, many, many times) that provide solutions to a question for which we have had an answer for at least 50 years.

Why?

Because we (you, me, and every other person living in the US) are addicted to immediate gratification.

The people who write the diet books know this and realize that every year we will flock to Barnes & Noble and buy millions of these titles.  In addition, they also know that we will be drawn to the diet books with the hottest celebrities that promise the quickest results.  For example which book would you buy:

Eat Better and Exercise – A sensible Guide to Loosing Weight During the Next 365 Days.

The 60-Second Diet – How YOU Can Achieve Rock Hard Abs in Less than 1 Week and Still Eat Every Meal at McDonalds!

In a world dominated by instant communication and results we have become lazy and lack the discipline to do anything that takes time and requires patience.

If you really want to make breakthrough life changes in 2010, don’t expect instant results.

Dig in and be prepared for a long journey.

I guarantee it will be worth it.

CJ McClanahan
reachmore

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Posted in Business, Habits, Life, Sales |

Consistency
Tuesday, December 15th, 2009

As 2009 winds down, I look back on the previous 12 months and ask myself the same question I do every year – “What are the most important lessons from 2009?”

This year I had many.

However, what I found most interesting is that I relearned one lesson for the 6th year in a row.

My success has very little to do with any new technology, new idea or groundbreaking book that I have completed.

More often than not, my success is a direct result of my ability to execute a handful of basics (blocking and tackling) on a consistent basis.

In other words, if I successfully completed the following activities I probably had a great year (professionally):

•    Hit my weekly prospecting numbers
•    Carefully measured my results
•    Set clear expectations for my staff
•    Held them accountable
•    Planned my week in advance
•    Celebrated victories on a regular basis
•    Reflected and learned from my mistakes

If you’re like most of my executive coaching clients, you could probably put together a similar list.

But you don’t.

Instead, you spend too much time looking for the “magic bullet” that will double sales, increase profits and cut your workload in half.

Guess what?  There’s only a few magic bullets in your industry each year and the chances of you finding one of them is very low.

In 2010, I recommend that you focus on the basics and let your competition waste their time trying to become the next Google.

CJ McClanahan
reachmore

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Posted in Business, Habits, Life |

Interest vs. Commitment
Tuesday, November 24th, 2009

Take out a piece of paper and write down a list of everything that interests you.  For most that will include exercise, church, family, work, travel, friends, Facebook, TV, radio, video games, neighbors, etc.  Put everything on this list that occupies your time throughout a typical month.

Next, I want you to circle the 5 things that are most important to you.  These are your commitments.

Finally, I want you to look at your calendar during the past month and see where you spent your time.  Was it spent on your commitments, or loosely spread unevenly amongst your interests?

I have completed this exercise with hundreds of people and I almost always get the same response.

There is a major disconnect between where you spend your time and your commitments.

In a world filled with opportunities to get distracted, most people are over interested and under committed.

We’ve all said “yes” to too many committees, after school events or distant family functions.

Your happiness and success is directly related to the decisions you make with your time.

Make sure you’re crystal clear about the difference between an interest and a commitment.  For most of you this will be a difficult process because we want to be everything to everyone.

In addition, it’s likely that a new level of commitment will result in some hurt feelings and a few uncomfortable conversations (someone has to tell your kid’s teacher that you can’t be the chairman of the Science Fair).  That’s OK.

For those of you that have a particularly difficult time saying “no” to any and every request of your time, I have a suggestion.  When an opportunity for involvement arises ask yourself this simple question – “Does this opportunity relate to one of my five commitments?”

If the answer is “no” then don’t do it!  I don’t care if it will only take 10 minutes to complete.  Get used to saying “no” to any activity that distracts you from your commitments.

This week strive to do less.

CJ McClanahan
reachmore

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Posted in Life |

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.

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Posted in Life |

Lead By Example
Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009

This past weekend I completed the Lake Lemon Triathlon just north of Bloomington, IN.

My triathlon strategy is simple – survive the swim with a little bit left in the tank so that I can coast on the bike, regain my strength, and finish the run strong.

I’m not exactly a champion.

I compete in these events for a handful of reasons – stay in shape, get a t-shirt, have fun, etc.

This year I added a new motivation for my participation.

This year my kids came to see me compete for the first time.

It’s very important that Ian and Corinne witness me setting a goal, working hard and achieving the goal (although my son Ian was a little upset that so many people finished ahead of me).

I can talk until I am blue in the face about the importance of perseverance and hard work.  But, nothing compares to leading by example.

The same is true in the workplace.  We’ve all had the boss who gives great advice and guidance but rarely practices what they preach.

Often the most effective leaders say very little.  They let their actions do the talking.

How about you?

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Posted in Habits, Life |

Just Do It
Thursday, June 11th, 2009

Last 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.

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Posted in Habits |

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