Why Aren't You More Successful?

You work hard, you worry, you're tired--but for all that, why aren't you more successful? 
Chances are, you're not really applying your time, money, or energy in the right directions, or with enough intensity.  Let's review 3 critical, yet simple things the most successful people do differently from the rest:

1- Know what you want
How can you possibly get from A to B if you don’t know what B is? Do you just get in your car and start driving aimlessly? NO, before you get to the end of your street, you know your desired destination. Strangely, most people don’t know what they want. Like most people, I used to spend more time determining where to go for dinner, or making out their Christmas list than determining what to accomplish over the next year. What do you want to be known for?

Blast Through Your Workload in Minutes!

Warning: this post is going to challenge your comfort level and if you try this strategy, you may never go back to working too many hours again.  If you are a gym rat, or into fitness-related media, you have heard of Tabata workouts.  Izumi Tabata is credited with the super-short, intense intervals of 20 seconds of all out effort coupled with 10 seconds of rest, repeated for a mere 4 minutes total for the entire workout.  Lest you think this isn't enough to fatigue all major muscle groups, just try it! *The secret to effectiveness lies in the ALL-OUT EFFORT made in bursts, coupled with shorter rests.* 

How can you apply this to your workload?  In three components: 1) decide on the most important work to be done, and 2) work in focused blocks of time coupled with 3) useful rest periods.

12 Days of Apps: TIME RECORDING

Where does your time go?  How can you possibly know unless you track it?  Have you done one of those exercises where you track everything for a week, and although useful, you feel like you need "Time Tracking" added to the list because it felt like it took way more time than it should have?  

What if there was an app for that?  What, oh, of course there is!  At least one...in fact there are several.  After taking a sales audit course and realizing I hadn't been doing a good job of tracking how much of my time was spent on critical activities, I searched for an app instead of relying on my usual spreadsheets or a paper journal.

12 Days of Apps: TIMER

Welcome to the 12 Days of Apps from Envision Success Inc!  We are reviewing 12 apps this month that we like, and that help our clients, friends, and colleagues be more productive.  

The first is an indispensable product!  Fortunately this is a piece of hardware (or software) that everyone has, either around the house, on their mobile device, and easily accessible at their nearby Target or grocery store:

A Timer
As in, a standard kitchen/household timer...  Yep, this is a critical tool for getting the most focus when you really need it. 

Are you Productive or EFFECTIVE?

The other day I found myself rushing to get to Rotary in time for lunch and felt like I had been "running at full speed" from the moment I got out of bed. I had a to-do list with some check-marks and a good client meeting that morning, but I felt a bit manic as I was speeding along in traffic and mentioned on the phone, "Oooh, I don't like it when I'm rushing like this!" (I do like fast-paced and dynamic, but this was the next level), then I said  "At least I've been productive!" Because I felt I had been getting things done.  But then I realized I was justifying it.

Hit the "Up" Button

You know how it feels when motivation is flagging, and that task that you said you would complete suddenly seems too difficult and you want to take a break, or quit altogether?  Hit the "UP" button!

During one of my recent workout sessions, the video host said, "You can always hit the UP button" in reference to putting more effort into the task at hand.  Hmmm...I like it! Very motivating.  I have since adopted it a bit as a personal motto. (Thanks to Jillian Micheals)

Business Relationship Success: 4 Habits to Master

These are certainly not complex, but for most people "life gets in the way," excuses are made, and somehow these no-brainers take a back seat to daily distractions.  During my daily listening to and reading motivational info from experts in business (an activity I highly recommend for everyone), I was reminded from Dan Sullivan of 4 simple habits when dealing with others in business (and life) that foster more success.  A blatant disregard for these 4 destroys trust, loses respect, and turns off previously raving fans. Most people agree these make sense and are not difficult, but they aren't doing them consistently.  For those that do, success is theirs.

4 Tips for FUN, Successful Business Planning

Yep, I am aware that Business Planning is most people's "not my favorite" topic, but it is nonetheless a critical component to success in business.  Of course, I like to make it as fun and exciting as possible with my clients- Hey, it CAN be a good time!  I am pleased to share the following specifics you can do during your next planning session to make it your best year yet!

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. 

The Five Olympic Attitudes

What I learned during my weight workout this morning, from a video presentation of Dennis Waitley (what perfect timing with the games in London currently!)

5 Olympic Attitudes (for Success):

I. Adapt to Change
A great formula for dealing with change proactively is KASH; continue enhancing in every area-
K nowledge
A ttitute
S kills
H abits

9 Ways to Stay Motivated

So you've set your goals or intentions.  Now what?  From experience, we all know "life gets in the way" and often weeks and months can go by without much progress toward achievements. To change results, there must be a process or system for execution. In other words, you have to

How to Focus (No, It's Not Hocus Pocus)

Pay attention! Focus! How many times did you hear this is a kid (or as an adult, come to think of it)? When the ball is coming at your head or when you have 2 hours until a big deadline...all you need is more focus. Ugh, "just focus." Yeah right, like it's so super easy when your stress level is through the roof. Aaaah, but it can be. Easy, I mean. With practice. Yep, that's the catch. But it's not really a catch as much as a way in, and it is SO worth it!

Focus Defined
Q. Are focus and discipline the same thing, because I just can't seem to get a handle on either of these?
A. No, although the road to learning laser focus probably requires a bit of discipline for most people. Focus is the ability to put thought energy toward something specific. Discipline is the ability to give yourself a command and follow it.

What About This, That, and the Other?
Do you have this challenge too? You just sit down to focus on that project and almost as soon as your butt touches the chair, one or more things you "have to do" pop up. Such as: I have to go to the bathroom, and I should get that email out to the team before I forget, and oh I just remembered I need to call Bill, and omg I should have eaten lunch because I'm starving... First of all, rest assured this is normal in our modern world of work. Almost everyone feels like their focus is scattered pretty much all the time. My personal theory on this is that we are simply used to it, and we now expect it, and the cycle continues. We expect ourselves to be masterful multi-taskers. However, just like a computer processor, the human brain technically handles only one task at a time, even if it is at the speed of light.

How to Increase Your Focus
Determine what type of structures or processes you can use to help you create and maintain focus when needed. As an example of something my clients really benefit from, try using a kitchen timer to keep yourself focused. Determine a specific task to focus on, take a few minutes to clear out the procrastination items (go to the bathroom, refill your water glass, set the phone to silent, etc...) then set the timer for a reasonable period of time and focus ONLY on completing the desired task for that amount of time. This works because essentially you give yourself permission to put the other stuff on hold temporarily. Try it.

What to Focus On?
Another facet of Focus leads us to what exactly you put your focus toward. Which thoughts and actions will ultimately help you be more effective? What are you working toward? If you don't know your desired outcome, start by focusing on that.

As an example, if you have a project due soon, be able to articulate what you want to accomplish. In others words, what would you like the outcome to be? (At a medium-sized contact center, they determined as a team they wanted the clients totally satisfied, the team to feel the project was worthwhile, they worked together well and didn't have to put in as much overtime, and also the profit is in the good range due to improvements in project flow.) Once you have the goal to focus on, being as specific as you can, stretching for improvements with a bit of pragmatism. Then, hold the picture of this accomplishment in your focus while asking simple questions to help you drive it forward from your starting point. What could you do to make it happen? (If you have a team, like in this example, brainstorm with them.) Do NOT filter the ideas until AFTER you have a ton of real possibilities. Then figure out which ones to take action on.


ACTIONS:
1. Consider your ability to focus and whether or not discipline is required. Resolve to make 1 little tiny improvement this week. What will it be?

2. Try using the timer technique today or tomorrow to complete a task you've been putting off. OH, it will feel so good! Which task do you choose?

3. Keep a notepad handy and jot down things that come to mind when you are focusing on something specific. Write it down, then get right back to it, checking the list for actions after "focus time."

Bonus!
To help you focus your imagination and get motivated, I'd like to recommend a product I use personally and recommend to clients to help focus on creating their vision for the future:
http://www.visualizeyourgoals.com/cgi-bin/t.cgi?a=476574

Goal Achieving Versus Goal Setting

Did you set New Year's Resolutions or yearly goals for 2009?

Many people did, and yet some have already fallen off track. Yet it's not too late; it's never too late for success! If you're one of the fallen, how can you get back into the groove in terms of making progress toward goals? There are a couple of simple things to do, and many people are just not aware of them, and consequently it's much harder for them to succeed.

By the end of this post you will have the critical tools needed for setting AND achieving your goals. Ready, set, go!

You may be wondering right about now, "what's the difference between goal setting and goal achieving?"

The short answer is: Envision...Focus...Action

Envision
First you need to know what you want. If you are at point "A," do you know where your point "B" is? What do you want to be different? What exactly do you want? Figuring out some details regarding what you want naturally helps you envision the desired outcome. Do some daydreaming and make some notes. Big goals, little goals, it doesn't really matter as long as the idea of accomplishing [it] helps you grow and ultimately makes you happy in some way.

As an example, let's assume Bob wants to increase revenue this year and he knows he can't raise prices, so he wants to serve more customers. He looks at his schedule, he imagines being able to help more people, he envisions the daily differences in his work, and the extra income earned, etc...

Focus
You already have a good start because you had to focus some energy on figuring out what you want. Let's take it a step further... You've heard that writing down your goals is important, right? Do you know why? Do you realize that by writing something down, it is imprinted differently in your mind and therefore it is more likely to "stick" and you will be more likely to succeed. You've heard of SMART goals? When you write your goal in a way that illustrates how it is Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and TimeBound, you will have established the details of the goal that will help you succeed, and in addition you will know when you succeeded. Focus also includes reminding yourself consistently what you are working toward.

When Bob first told me he wanted more money, I flipped him a quarter and said, "OK, you have more money; are you happy now?" He laughed and realized he needed to get more specific about how much. After a bit of thinking, Bob's goal statement looked something like this: Increase customer services performed by 30% by the end of 2009.

Action
Goals should push us to grow and expand in some way, and this is done through mental and physical action. Smart business people strategize some before bolting into action, and they do not get bogged down in planning every detail so that the action phase never arrives.

Make a plan, don't obsess about it, do something that takes you a step closer to achievement, and repeat.

Action includes persistence. Therefore yes, it does take some discipline to succeed, but a key part of the action phase is to continue feeding your desire to achieve the goal so that you don't have to rely on tough discipline alone. You can't expect to overcome a variety of obstacles without continuing to focus on the desired outcome and reminding yourself WHY you want [it].

It's the combination of setting an appropriate (SMART) goal, focusing on the desired outcome, and consistent action that makes the difference between goal setters and goal achievers.

Bob has done some brainstorming with me, his coach, to come up with ways to better meet more customers' needs. He has implemented a referral program and a special offer on new and existing ancillary services. He continues to focus with positive expectation on his 30% goal for a couple minutes twice daily, which he noticed helps him stay in a better mood. He is excited to report some new sales the past month and is on track for his goal.

Get On Track Now!
Envision what it will be like to achieve your goal.
Focus for a moment; pretend like it's already happened and feel great about it.
Now act! Do something right now to move you in the direction of the goal.
Enjoy your success!


Sincerely,
Heather A. Legge
Results coaching for business people

Learn From the Best: Actively Create Your Success

Are you ready to experience more success? Well sure! But how?

I help people daily determine how to intentionally create their professional and personal success, whether they are business owners, or working professionals within a larger organization. I am always working to help people understand that it doesn't have to be difficult to get what you really want, nor do you have to sacrifice other things you want. It is a matter of making a decision and carrying out some simple, proven steps for creating your own version of success!

My objective here is to share some information, and give you at least one take-away that you can apply immediately that is helpful, and to allow you to make some decisions: Do you want to be ordinary, or do you want to be extraordinary? What is your next step?

What is Success?
Everyone defines success differently, but the most typical comments include a measure of financial freedom. And when we make a point to study the most successful people in our culture, we can see patterns emerge that differentiate them from the masses financially. While we acknowledge that money doesn’t make us happy, it makes us comfortable, gives peace of mind, and allows us to provide greater service to others and also allows us to do a lot more of what we want, when we want.

On that note, let me ask you this: Why do approximately 1% of people have over 95% of the money? It’s NOT due to luck, nor intelligence, nor is it related to formal education. The ones at the very top did not have everything given to them either. These people made a DECISION to actively create their success.

How?
We can look at 3 critical, yet simple things the ones at the top do differently from the rest:

1- Know what you want!
How can you possibly get from A to B if you don’t know what B is? Do you just get in your car and start driving aimlessly? NO, before you get to the end of your street, you know your desired destination. Strangely, most people don’t know what they want. Like most people, I used to spend more time determining where to go for dinner, or making out their Christmas list than determining what to accomplish over the next year. What do you want to be known for? What is your Mission? Or, for the purposes of this article at least, what is your primary goal for the next 6 months? Take action by acknowledging specifically what you want and writing it down.

2- Apply the Art of Thinking!
No, I’m not being facetious here. Most people (the other 99%) assume that they are thinking on a daily basis just because they are using their brain to get through the day. But, that’s not quality thought. Are we really thinking when we are watching TV? (Using brain; not thinking!) What about when we are driving? What about when preparing for a project or a presentation or writing a research paper – that’s a lot harder and we have to think for that, right? Wrong. That’s not it either. What I mean by “thinking” in this case is the ability to expend thought energy which is completely focused toward something specific (yes, even in our widespread, self-professed world of Attention Deficit). Focus. So we apply the Art of Focused Thinking on getting what we really want.

Beyond focusing on what we want, there is another facet to the Art of Thinking that the most successful people have mastered. In terms of success, there are 2 distinct mindsets to understanding how a person is getting their current results (and how to change future results). The 1st mindset says that one’s results are caused by things outside oneself, like government and taxes and weather and Joe down the street did this and Betty did that and he or she makes me angry and the economy sucks and that’s why my business is down, etc... Sound familiar? So what do we do about it? Most people go about trying to change their results by acting on what they see in their circumstances. Then they are frustrated because they aren’t seeing the change in results that they want. This is exactly why just about everyone thinks changing habits is so HARD.

Do you want to set yourself apart from the crowd? Do you want to be unforgettable?

The 2nd mindset is the success-oriented way of thinking,. What that top 1% has completely mastered is this more illuminating view of cause and effect. While others are looking at the circumstances around them as the cause of their results, the most successful people in the world acknowledge that the results they are seeing around them are the Effect. What is the Cause?

MY actions are the cause for MY results!! And it’s not just about taking personal responsibility, it’s much more powerful than that; it’s about thinking in a different way. What I see around me in my daily existence is the result of what I am consistently thinking, saying, and doing. What these top achievers do differently, and what I help my clients with, is creating daily habits of thinking and acting applied to the Cause, and therefore achieving the desired Effects. Have you heard the saying “Doing great things is a simply a matter of doing small things in a great way.”?

Anyone can change their future results by applying the Art of Thinking. It’s not new, it’s not hard, and it’s well within anyone’s reach in terms of having the money (next to nothing need be spent to learn this stuff), and also in terms of time (I’m talking about maybe 10 minutes of focus time a day, more if you have it – but that’s all it really takes to make a HUGE difference and see improved results). More than anything, applying the Art of Thinking is about learning how to focus on what you really want.

3- Maximize your resources!
The very wealthy are very good at leveraging their resources for maximum returns, a good example is establishing multiple sources of income so they are making money while they sleep, while they lead a very comfortable lifestyle, and of course while they are "playing" because many of them don’t “work” at all. They are also very good at continuously looking to maximize their resources in innovative ways that other people do not take advantage of. Look around and start considering how you can maximize your resources.

Applied Knowledge:
I’ll share here two techniques that you can apply immediately, or at least in the next week:

1- In the spirit of applying the Art of Thinking, I’ll suggest that you establish a creative perspective in business. 'Creative' in this case does not mean 'artistic,' it refers to an approach to problem solving that is geared away from the more common competitive mindset. You cannot always be worrying about what your competition is doing; it is far better to blaze a trail than to be a follower. During the very next situation you face in your work that requires some problem-solving, I invite you to take a more creative approach. One easy method is to start asking questions. Don’t allow yourself to automatically say “I can’t” – start asking “How can I?”

2-In terms of Maximizing Your Resources, leverage expert knowledge from other people. No one wins on their own; everyone has a team of people and various resources from which they pull in order to put everything together. Even lone ranger entrepreneurs and sole proprietors need other people to ensure their success. Your customers are an excellent source of expert knowledge. Are you asking your customers what they think? Start asking; there are hundreds of options for approaching your customers and gathering their valuable insight, and in addition to strengthen your relationship with your customers. (If you need a survey or verbal poll, contact me and I can help you put one together.) Another really powerful way to leverage others’ knowledge is to join a group of people in business that understand the same challenges as you are facing but are not direct competitors, that you can rely on for honest feedback, generating ideas, you can focus together to create and implement amazing solutions for the very specific challenges that you are individually and collectively dealing with. The very elite in business have been doing this for some time, and it is my pleasure to bring this concept to you here. Right now I am helping groups of 8 form together to start in January, and each group will focus on helping their own businesses thrive in 2009 by leveraging each other’s strengths, and by pooling their resources together to gain the benefits of a having a professional business coach facilitate their progress. (Contact me for details.)

What's Your Next Step?
Remember I said the ones at the very top made a DECISION to actively create their own success? Do you know what you really want? Are willing to apply the Art of Thinking to get what you really want? And are you maximizing your resources? Talk to your customers and put that expert knowledge to work.

Still not sure what your next step is? Consider joining a group of successful business people and experience something extraordinary over the next few months.

Don’t settle for ordinary. Don’t assume you’re going to have a rough year in 2009. Make a decision now for how you can actively create your success!