Morning Motivator - How Big of a Fool are YOU?

"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool."
- Richard P. Feynman

Everyday we fool someone we love and care for very dearly - our self. We lie to ourselves and say, "Yes, Im happy" or "I was VERY productive today." Be honest with yourself and answer this - Have you given your BEST efforts this week? If you answered YES, you can stop reading.

Ill assume a good majority of us are STILL reading further. Good for you for being HONEST! Now, how do we correct our behavior? First, we must identify what our GOALS are for the week. Do they align with your monthly, quarterly and annual goals? Next, we define the difference between BUSY and PRODUCTIVE. BUSY = lots of activity and effort with little or marginal gain. PRODUCTIVE = minimal amounts of effort REQUIRED to make large gains. Which are you? Finally, we must create a MEASUREMENT system by which we can track our success. As a role model of mine, Andy Bailey, always says - "what gets measured - gets done!" Remember, you must know your location on a map to know where you are relative to your destination.

2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP:

Stop fooling yourself into believing you are: IMPORTANT, PRODUCTIVE or TOO BUSY. Make yourself IMPORTANT, PRODUCTIVE and LESS BUSY. Focus on HIGH VALUE ACTIVITIES (HVAs) will allow the ability to do this. Start by effectively managing PRODUCTIVITY KILLERS:

- Answer emails during DEFINED hours (best after lunch and prior to leaving for the day)

- Schedule meetings for early in the day (this limits the opportunity for interruptions)

- ALWAYS request a TIME FRAME from people seeking your help (when do we start? When do we need to deliver?)

- Be DIRECT in your emails (say WHAT you want, WHEN you want it, HOW you need it and WHO is involved - more structure empowers the recipient)

- Write your GOALS down daily (keeping a visual reminder of your HVAs will help you determine if the "loudest thing near you" is really the most important)

I encourage everyone to seek ways to do MORE with LESS time. Find ways to WORK only a few hours a day and USE the remaining time to further develop your goals - personal, professional, spiritual and physical! Have a GREAT weekend!!

Cheers,
Zach

*To enjoy past editions of the Morning Motivator go to – http://grow-learn-lead.blogspot.com

The Morning Motivator is a copyrighted publication. The use of this article is open for print or publication with proper citations.

Morning Motivator - Is Your Watch Broken?

"Time is not measured by the passing of the years, but by what one does, what one feels, and what one achieves."
- Jawaharlal Nehru

The relativity of time is complex. The manner in which an hour in the doctor's office can seem like FOREVER and 2 days with someone you care for can seem like SECONDS. Where are you spending your time? Have you focused so intently on ONE area of your life that GREAT opportunities or relationships are flying past you?

Often in life, we fail to appreciate the TIME we have with family, friends and exploring personal growth. We are so FOCUSED on enhancing our business, our income or our prestige in the community that we fail to ENJOY the real gifts of life. I have been thinking about the DIFFICULT things to measure - affection, caring and growth. How do you know you are investing enough "love" into a relationship? How do you measure the EFFECTIVENESS of your caring?

I believe that if you are DEDICATED to growing yourself and your relationships - there IS a way to create measurements of the intangibles. Do you?

2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP:
Since TIME is such a moving target - it is your RESPONSIBILITY to find ways to make time to BALANCE your most important areas of life - Mind, Body, Spirit, Family and Personal Development.

Set small goals for yourself to achieve 1 HIGH VALUE ACTIVITY (HVA) per week in each area. That would be 52 GROWTH efforts made per year!!

Don't worry about a complete CHANGE in habits and lifestyle... Keep it simple and change 2 degrees at a time.

Cheers,
Zach

*To enjoy past editions of the Morning Motivator go to – http://grow-learn-lead.blogspot.com

The Morning Motivator is a copyrighted publication. The use of this article is open for print or publication with proper citations.

Morning Motivator – Are You Scared of Opportunity?

"Opportunity is often difficult to recognize; we usually expect it to beckon us with beepers and billboards."
- Unknown

What is an opportunity? I see "opportunity" and the possibility to grow through experience. What makes a GOOD opportunity? This all depends on your end goals. Are you seeking to generate more personal INCOME, free up more personal TIME, create EXPOSURE for yourself, or simply create a greater ABILITY to understand and explore? All are valid reasons.

The better question around OPPORTUNITY is: "Will you see it coming?" The BEST question is … "Will you take ACTION!?" The DANGER of opportunity is that when we see it come by a few times, we become COMPLACENT and feel that there will be an endless supply. WAKE UP!! This may be the only LAST chance you ever get to do something. Tackle the opportunity head on and OWN it – make sure that you get the most out of it and then move on to the next one. Have you missed an opportunity lately? Do you see one coming that you are afraid to harness? Be DARING – Be BOLD – Take a RISK and see what happens…. Rarely will you fail.

2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP:
The challenge of OPPORTUNITY is our 20/20 vision after it has passed. You MUST have clear outlined goals for your life to even be able to RECOGNIZE an opportunity (as they are often hidden in the mess of communication you receive). Here are some quick tips to sharpen your ability to "see" opportunity earlier:

- Put a VISION plan in place – know where you are going 10 years from now and ACT on it

- Have your GOALS (short term and long term) easily accessible for reminders

- Do NOT be afraid to fail… that's the ONLY best way to learn

- Relish in the chance to learn from a new perspective.

- Ask LOTS of questions – explore on the front end and back

Your life will be full of opportunity – many of which you will never see. Heighten your awareness of opportunities and you seize more and more as time progresses. I hope that today you are able to UNCOVER an opportunity to GROW… even just 2 degrees better!

Cheers,
Zach

*To enjoy past editions of the Morning Motivator go to – http://grow-learn-lead.blogspot.com

The Morning Motivator is a copyrighted publication. The use of this article is open for print or publication with proper citations.

Morning Motivator – It’s OK to Not be Perfect

"Peace is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process, gradually changing opinions, slowly eroding old barriers, quietly building new structures."
- John F. Kennedy

For those that have enjoyed an intimate discussion with me before, you may attest to the fact that I am an inherently insecure person. Some people cannot believe that a person as outspoken and occasionally "overly confident" as myself could be so INSECURE. I hate to disappoint – but I am. Why do I share this with you..? Simply, I am learning to accept who I am, what my offerings to the world are and share this message with those that can benefit from my experience. I am beginning to realize that its OK to NOT be PERFECT. And I want you to know - its ok for you as well!

Everyday I awaken and focus on what the "topic" of the Morning Motivator will be. Often, I hear a great story of SERVICE, SUCCESS or ACCOMPLISHMENT. Occasionally, I simply reflect on an unusual day – both good and bad. From these experiences, I share what I am beginning to learn about myself, my co-workers and my friends.

As a reader of the Morning Motivator I know a few things about you:

1. You are interested in IMPROVING your life – personally, professionally, financially, spiritually

2. You are DEDICATED to improving the lives of OTHERS – your service is your greatest gift

3. You are ACCEPTING that you do not always have the answers – and are willing to let others help guide you

4. You are NOT PERFECT, you ACCEPT this and your GOAL is to find ways to GROW where you are not at your strongest.

I KNOW - it takes a very POWERFUL person to admit they are NOT perfect. It takes even more STRENGTH to ask for help. As I grow in my life daily, I learn from the people around me, the experiences I endure and the stories that are shared. I am realizing that I am not perfect … and NO ONE ELSE is either. I gain my strength from YOU and dedicate to share that back DAILY.

2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP:
To OVERCOME challenges in your life and ACCOMPLISH goals – you must be able to "see" them. One way to "see" them is to think about them ALL THE TIME and leverage the Law of Attraction.

The Law of Attraction simply says that you attract into your life whatever you think about. Your dominant thoughts will find a way to manifest. What do you think about? SUCCESS, COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT, FAMILY HAPPINESS? All are great and noble desires… so make them happen!! Here are some steps to doing so:

* Have your long term GOALS written on a document you have easy access to and look at them daily – make this a waking or bedtime ritual

* Have your short term GOALS noted and carry them until each goal is completed (your BlackBerry will hold this info nicely too) – achieve by osmosis… always have these one you!

* Develop a system to face any challenges that can affect your daily mental performance – i.e. Walk daily if you are insecure about weight, read an inspirational quote if you need a morning boost

It is YOUR responsibility to ensure your own SUCCESS everyday! No one will GIVE you the things you want in life and plenty of people WILL help you get there. ACCEPT yourself for who you are, others for what they are and FOCUS on best ways to improve the overall QUALITY of your day to day experiences. IF you pursue GROWTH opportunities – you will never CHOOSE wrong.

Cheers,
Zach

*To enjoy past editions of the Morning Motivator go to – http://grow-learn-lead.blogspot.com

The Morning Motivator is a copyrighted publication. The use of this article is open for print or publication with proper citations.

Morning Motivator – The Greatest Invention… Reinventing the Wheel!

"The measure of success is not whether you have a tough problem to deal with, but whether it's the same problem you had last year."
- John Foster Dulles

I hope you appreciate the sarcasm of the Morning Motivator title today. I have yet to come in touch with someone that is EXCITED about reinventing the wheel. With all the creative GENIUS in the world and TALENT for problem solving – it is amazing to me how many people would rather start from scratch than to apply their creativity and solution enhancing skills. Why not IMPROVE something that already works at the core? Why not find a new APPLICATION for a previously successful tool? Why not let others do the WORK and you do the ENHANCEMENTS?

Look at your daily business procedures – are they STREAMLINED? EFFICIENT? PRODUCTIVE? If not – why not? One of the key indicators of SUCCESS is GROWTH. The idea of growth is not limited to the number of employees you have, the volume of dollars in the pipeline or even generated revenues. GROWTH includes creating EFFICIENCY such as REFINING your processes and ELIMINATING unnecessary steps, finding more PRODUCTIVE uses of time while MAXIMIZING your total energy use. Now – if SUCCESS is GROWTH and GROWTH is EFFICIENCY then how critical is the efficiency of your business to your overall SUCCESS?! Start looking at the way you DO things and you will find – time, money and energy abound. Here's a good way to get started…

2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP:
The analysis begins with your day to day operations. Your goal is to AUTOMATE and ELIMINATE as much as possible. Look at the following systems:

1. Generating NEW clients
2. Post Meeting follow up with ALL clients
3. Quotes and Pricing production
4. Continued Marketing and Promotion
5. Reporting and Meetings

Many of these ACTIVITIES do not require a HIGH LEVEL interface between you and the client/co-worker. How many of these things can be AUTOMTAED through technology? (ex. email for marketing and sales generation, using BlackBerry autotext for immediate follow ups, leveraging your IP Phone systems to direct calls to specific persons based on need, etc). How many of these activities can be ELIMINATED in general? (ex. Sales meetings can be attended by an assistant, "in between" meetings with clients can be run by account managers, provide information in seminar formats to eliminate having to have many individual meetings).

When you STREAMLINE your business – you will find a WEALTH of resources at your disposal. FOCUS on your best activities – OUTSOURCE the remainder to others who enjoy the work you do not – AUTOMATE all systems that do not require human interaction. This is how you will FREE your time to spend with MORE people – doing a BETTER job!! Make this a great week!

Cheers,
Zach

*To enjoy past editions of the Morning Motivator go to – http://grow-learn-lead.blogspot.com

The Morning Motivator is a copyrighted publication. The use of this article is open for print or publication with proper citations.