| “True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.” – Arthur Ashe | |
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Posts Tagged ‘Life’
What will be your example in life?
Tuesday, May 31st, 2011Slow
Wednesday, May 25th, 2011My day is always planned out – almost to the minute.
While that is a good thing from a productivity standpoint, sometimes it gets me into trouble when an unexpected interruption appears (which always happens).
This happened last week and in my haste to make up time racing from one appointment to the next I got a speeding ticket. Unlike most offenders, I was actually thankful for the ticket. It served as a $150 reminder that I need to slow down.
Life comes at each of us fast and it’s only going to get faster.
Imagine the great scenery we are missing in our lives because we are obsessed with getting to the next item on our “to-do” list.
Maybe, just maybe, we need to create a little breathing room in our daily schedule.
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.
Pushing to the next level
Monday, May 2nd, 2011| “Never wish that life were easier, wish that you were better.” – Jim Rohn | |
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The meat of the lesson
Tuesday, March 8th, 2011“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.” – Hellen Keller
I am not a big fan of the tough lesson while I am in the middle of the learning. It stinks.
Like most of you, I want my life to be predictable and easy.
Unfortunately, that’s not how it works.
The next time that you are in the middle of a tough challenge remember that you will ALWAYS be a better person on the other side.
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
Values
Tuesday, November 9th, 2010A few weeks back I was on a plane heading to Vancouver. I was filling out the customs forms as we landed and came to the box that said “Are you bringing any commercial goods with you to sell?”.
Up until this point in my business the answer had always been “no”. However, on this trip I had 1 box of my books that I thought I might try and sell at a speaking engagement.
Before I checked yes, I thought to myself, “This isn’t really that many books. Do I really want to check ‘yes’ and slow down the entire process? What if they want to check my luggage and ask me a bunch of questions. I will just check ‘no’ and avoid the hassle.”
But, then I remembered that one of my core values is “honesty” and I reluctantly clicked the box that said “yes”. This decision did slow me down and resulted in checked luggage and a bunch of questions from the customs agent.
Values are the building blocks upon which you build your life. If you don’t have them or only adhere to them when it is convenient then you will struggle to find a sense of peace and contentment in your daily life.
There is a great quote (I can’t remember who said it) that says, “If you stand for nothing you will fall for anything.”
How about you? What do you stand for?
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 CJ’s new book – Thrive.
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.
Perspective
Wednesday, August 4th, 2010When is the last time that you have been to a sporting event? Did you have good seats or bad seats?
Your view of the action probably had a great deal to do with how much you enjoyed the game.
It is the same with every single aspect of your life. By that I mean, your ability to be successful and enjoy your existence is directly related to your viewpoint or your perspective.
Consider the following examples.
Brian is a 7 year old boy who lives with his family in Fishers, IN. His dad is a doctor and his mother is an attorney who has decided to stay at home with Brian and his 4 year old sister until they are both in grade school. Throughout his school years Brian is provided with encouragement from his family, friends, and teachers . During the summers he has the opportunity to travel and attend many camps that provide him with great learning opportunities. As he nears the end of his senior year in high school, he has a choice of many different colleges to attend because he has maintained good grades and his parents have the financial means to pay for wherever he selects. In addition, virtually all of his friends will be attending college.
Tyler is a 7 year old boy who lives in a rundown neighborhood in Indianapolis. His mother works 2 jobs to pay the bills and he has never met his father. As a result, Tyler has very little supervision after school and spends this time getting into trouble. Throughout his school years, Tyler receives very little encouragement from anyone. His is constantly fed a message that has convinced him that the most he can ever hope for in life is a job at McDonalds. As he nears the end of high school, he realizes that he doesn’t have the grades to graduate and is considering just dropping out. Very few of Tyler’s friends will graduate High School and none will attend college.
Now imagine that you get a chance to meet both of these individuals the summer after their senior year. Can you imagine how different their perspectives on life will be?
Every time you are tempted to complain about a challenge in your life, I urge you to remember this example. A change in perspective can help turn any obstacle into an opportunity.
In addition, if you would like to learn more about how you can help kids like Tyler right here in Indianapolis please visit The Reach Foundation.
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.
Laughter
Thursday, July 23rd, 2009My 6 year old son Ian has convinced my wife and I to start a new evening ritual. Every night before he goes to bed we need to tell him a funny “baby story”. This is typically a quick account of something he did as a kid that made us laugh.
Last night my wife came down stairs laughing so hard that she was crying (literally). Apparently, she had told Ian the story of how we called him “Poopasaurus Rex” as an infant and he started laughing so hard he could barely control himself.
I went upstairs and asked him what was so funny and 60 seconds later we were both rolling with laughter.
I realized that laughter is truly the best medicine.
Laughter represents a brief moment where you live completely in the moment.
You aren’t stressed about what needs to get done the next day or the bills that need to get paid.
We all take life too seriously.
This week make sure you find a reason to laugh.