Back to School, Back to Business!

It's time for "Back to School, Back to Business!"  You may find yourself appreciating routine more than normal this time of year, and longing for Fall, the winter holidays, or your next vacation.  Caution: Don't wish your life away!  Here are some ideas for making the most of this seasonal transition:

3 Paths to Greater Success Through the End of This Year

Attitude (Success)- The most important thing to remember about attitude was summed up nicely by Henry Ford when he said, "If you think you can, you can. If you think you can't, you can't."  Attitude overcomes cancer, creates inventions, and wins gold medals. 
Surely, applying this to smaller daily challenges can also yield impressive results.  Once you have determined your goal, your primary job is to control your attitude in terms of honing in on what you want (and not on what you don't want), and your secondary job is to apply action.  Rather than entertain ideas and discussion of the worst-case scenario, challenge yourself over the next couple of days to play the what-if game in the positive, affirmative sense only, and THEN take action.  See what happens.  Have fun!


Skills (Focus) - Learning new skills will help you achieve greater success and satisfaction.  Consider the answer to "what 1 thing, if you did really well, would transform your business?"  Work to improve your skill in that area or delegate to someone who will and move on to the next one.  If you're not sure, try working on improved focus since that will serve you well for the rest of your life.  Tony Schwartz of The Energy Project in the book "Be Excellent at Anything" tells us that human work energy is best when focused for up to 90 minutes at a time with breaks in between.  Many of us in our culture may want to start with a shorter time period like 60 or 45 (or even 20) minutes.  My advice: go to the bathroom, get a beverage, silence the phone, set a timer, and get to work. No excuses!  This allows focus to take place for the desired amount of time.  If needed, have a notepad handy to jot down other things you don't want to forget, but get right back to focusing on the important task at hand.

Habit (Routines) - A strong foundation or structure is needed, and flexibility within, in order to be the most effective and efficient. One of the best practices for modern busy professionals is to use a central calendar and schedule priority activities. About 5 years ago, I polled local business owners and others for their best practices and recommendations regarding success and work-life balance and the answer most given was to keep one central calendar for both business and personal. There are many options online, apps for your gizmos, and good old-fashioned paper, all of which work incredibly well when 1) activities are scheduled appropriately, and 2) the schedule is followed.  For those habits you are cultivating and for those tasks deemed highest priority, schedule them in!  It also helps to replace unwanted habits and routines with new, desired habits and routines that take you in the direction of your goals.

Try it now: Imagine achieving the goal that most appeals to you. Picture yourself after achieving it and feeling on top of the world!  If someone were to interview you about your success, asking which skills and habits most helped you be successful, what will you say? Make a plan quickly to incorporate the top desired skill and habit, and start today!