Your Life Compass || Executive Performance Coaching
Success Calibration System ™
Our best memories are not made on a cell phone, pc or tackling an endless to-do list.
Our best memories are made in face to face moments. Doing what we enjoy, taking time to be with the people we enjoy. It’s about a deliberate pause to decide who and what brings you joy, then making the time to be there!
Here’s to making memorable moments this weekend!
Politely of course, à la Dr. Seuss!
It is beyond mid-April, yet this Winter unrelentingly hangs around, and has long outworn its welcome! A continuing, tenacious wintry scene, brings one of my favorite Dr. Seuss book title to mind: Marvin K. Mooney, Will You PLEASE GO NOW! “I don’t care how you go, JUST GO! NOW!”
Poetic license declared and granted by inserting the chosen name of someone, or something that has imposed a presence way beyond comfort. Keep repeating, as in this case, “Snowy F. Winter, I don’t care how you go, PLEASE JUST GO!! NOW!!!”
Could it be that easy?!! At least in our mind as we put out the welcome mat for the eventual, hopeful arrival of our next guest, Ms. Spring.
The cruelest April Fool’s prank is the one our inner critic dupes up into believing. To create a new relationship with self and life, simply thank it for attempting to help by keeping you small, and then dismiss it! Repeat enough times to reduce the inner critic to an occasional annoyance rather than an overshadowing presence. Then go step into the fullness of all that life has in store for you. Happy first of April and everyday !
To become your personal and professional best, i.e., being the best you possible, at what you pursue, is the ultimate success! For most people, it doesn’t happen magically. It takes time and practice.
The presenting scientist at lecture I recently attended declared that research quantified that it takes 1000 hours to master a new skill. That seems like a lot of hours. The distinction between focused time invested vs. time idly spent is huge. That’s the value of hours dedicated to learning what you deem important. The idea that practice time in learning a new language, meditating, or handling a ball, is an investment of confidence towards who you are becoming and what you want to accomplish, leads to a sense of fulfillment.
Practice, and learning from each ‘failure’ increases your odds for successful achievement. We would never have professional jugglers if they gave up with the first few times they dropped the baton, ball, or whatever they now specialize in juggling. So before you give up on the idea of learning a new skill for personal or professional development, first determine how much time you are actually willing to bank towards working on whatever goals you elect to pursue, and do it with focus and consistency!
Time invested in pursuit of your goals, is the science of great return, as well the process of growth and success to become your best!
Getting fanatic about unfinished business on a Friday can be a major motivator for smooth sailing into the following week. There’s huge satisfaction in completing and checking off tasks on the week’s unfinished business list. It’s like clearing out some breathing room on the road to working on your goals and just a bigger allowance of time without the burden of added weight, perpetually awaiting your attention.
Here’s a simple three-step approach. First, gather all that remains to be done on a list starting with the most challenging. Next, itemize all you’ll need for taking care of the top, most dreaded item. Then, get fierce about tackling it like an athlete going through a set of hurdles. Everything else should be easier in comparison, putting you on a momentum roll.
With all those incompletions out of the way, you can relax into the weekend, knowing Monday will begin as a fresh new week without a stack of daunting leftovers!
It’s your big push today for high productivity by leveraging your actions to achieve maximum results in record time. First month of the year, last day of the month is an opportunity to position yourself for finishing big AND starting next month poised for takeoff.
Whatever achievements you racked up so far, keeping the momentum going is pivotal since you’re setting the success foundation of your goal commitments, during the crucial first months of the year.
Four steps to creating end of the month success
Finishing one or two high impact actions is a success coup. Whatever actions remain to be completed can then be scheduled for priority rank in the upcoming month. Next, plan and schedule all additional initiatives and objectives as well.
Finally, plan to celebrate your efforts and progress. To your Success!
“I have a dream…” MLK | A goal is a dream in progress, with set deadlines as targets to aim for, to keep us moving forward.
Goals are the gifts we give ourselves, giving power to the activities that transform us and our world. Life Goals help us improve specific aspects about ourselves, or areas within our life. Achieving our goals helps us score internal points. They are about following through in doing what we identified needs to be done, to attain what we desire.
Effective goal setting keep us stretching and reaching towards the vision of what we want our life to be about. We each have a dream waiting to be fulfilled and when put into action that cherished dream can be the catalyst for the change we seek. Investing our creative energy, passion, and tenacity into pursuing our dreams of authentic success creates a tsunami of positive change in our world and beyond.
What are you committed to achieving today, this month, this quarter, this year??
To your dream…to your success!
Regardless of what this past year has been like for us, it’s helpful to keep in mind that we all have our share of self-doubt, temporary setbacks and times when the obligations of everyday life can feel like a succession of detours and roadblocks to our desired success. Yet, we persist and persevere, slowing down but never giving up on our goals!
Endings and beginnings require pause for reflection and appreciation. So as this year concludes and the new one beckons, how helpful would it be to focus and make note of all our gratitudes; whether they are for people, circumstances, simple rituals or delights that are the pilot light of our souls. These are the elements that engage our hearts with positive influence and keep us going.
It is also beneficial to be mindful of the ‘tolerations’ and annoyances of the less than ideal components. Awareness helps us to plan and chart our course to manage, change, totally eliminate, or at least minimize them in our life. Doing so frees up our energy, focus and commitment with a cleansing determination beyond acceptance of the status quo.
Endings are opportunities for glancing back to assess, with forward focus for creating positive change, making strides of progress with the hope of new beginnings, the gateways to better outcomes. Welcome to a shining New Year!
“At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.” Albert Schweitzer
May others’ sparks abound for you and to you being the flame for those need of light!
To 2014 and Success for THE Journey of Your Life™
Four Steps for creating a strategic approach to keep you engaged, motivated, and maintain a focus for targeted action:
1. FOCUS: Narrow your focus on your BIG BURNING IMPORTANT GOALS of SUCCESS™
2. ACTION: Commit to taking 2-3 consistent actions on those top 2-3 KEY goals.
3. KEEP SCORE: Measure your progress against the deadline.
4. ASSESSMENT & ACCOUNTABILITY: on a regularly scheduled weekly basis:
a. What did you do last week that worked moving you closer to the goals?
b. What did you do that did not have much of an impact?
c. What will you do again, or do differently this week to get you closer?
Working with a process of systematic approach, ALL the other stuff WILL still get done – just NOT at the expense of the BBIGS!
Strategically planning and executing is the ultimate advantage in accelerating achievement of big priority goals!
To YOUR Success!
Your Life Compass | Success for the Journey of Your Life™
Truism: The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Questions:
1. If the vision of your goal can be translated into that formula, what would that look like?
2. Are you fully aware how each of the parts contribute to the whole?
3. How will this help you be more engaged, productive and persistent?
Answer: A higher level perspective creates not only relevance but crystallizes how the dots connect, creating the ‘whole’!
Tis the season for naming and listing our thanks and gratitudes! THAT is very empowering, yet does not translate into resigning oneself to the status quo, nor being any less grateful for all the blessings that are ours. It simply provides a springboard to what we want MORE of from this one precious life we have. SO go ahead and name, list, and yes, upgrade to what you really, truly desire more of – in addition to all that currently is!
“I want more out of life than I’ve gotten.” Loretta Lynn
How about you?
The question whether to advance or to retreat infiltrates thoughts when the challenges, obstacles and roadblock overwhelm. Each option exacts a toll, but the rewards of persisting and progressing – however slow or at times non-apparent, becomes less about any outcome, and more about who you are!
Physical workouts are not complete without resistance training for strength. Persistence turns circumstantial, emotional and cognitive challenges into a training ground to grow intrinsic muscles for personal power and strength on the journey to achievement.
Give up on a major goal or deeply desired dream? NOT now, NOT today, NO WAY!
To advance or retreat – that is the question!
That voice in your head is cuing your emotional and cognitive energy on your vision, keeping your goals within sight to advance towards them, or sounding the bugle to retreat corralling you back to your comfort zone.
Your thoughts have a direct impact on your emotions, sounding the bugle to either help you advance beyond any potential rejection, failure, or ill faced circumstances. OR they can drag you into the pitfall of retreat at the mere semblance of perceived rejection, failure or ill-fated outcome.
When a thought or action empowers you, it amps your energy level. If it doesn’t, you’ll feel the drain, emotionally, cognitively and physically.
HOW and WHAT to do when the fear volume is on loud? Gauge your thoughts. Awareness of what is happening is a huge power tool to consciously redirect fear thoughts. Decide to ZAP those thoughts in their tracks. TAKE FIVE, a five seconds pause for a few deep breaths, to shift gears for tuning in to better, quality thoughts. It’s like placing your hand on the media button to find a more empowering track.
EASY-on ramp? Not initially, but equanimity is a state of mind worth crossing borders to reach – beyond the status quo of anxiety, stress, and retreat. The choice is to focus on the benefits of reaching intended goals and deciding to bypass distractions to transcend obstacles and limitations – real or imaginary. That’s the energizing power of successfully attaining what you challenged yourself to achieve!
Keep practicing, and carry on – progressing forward to your goals – to your success!
Can you imagine what worlds you can discover, what burning goals you can achieve when your deepest desires outweigh your biggest fears? A page worth contemplating from Chris’ playbook. Happy Columbus Day!
Time to soar beyond fear – Beyond the Status Quo for the Journey of Your Life™
“Desire creates the power.” Raymond Holliwell
Seasons change, as does our thinking about our ‘what for’ reasons, along the timeline of this Journey of life. The happiness we seek is simply to embrace our uniqueness – however wonderful, quirky, weird or beyond the ‘norm’. By slowing down enough to consciously and deliberately live it all – weaving in the struggle and pain, along with the celebration of triumph and joy. Loving it all, from moment to moment, making this one precious life count, so you can proclaim, ” I LIVED”