Morning Motivator - Taking Time to Recharge

"Its human to stretch, to go, to see, to understand. Exploration is not a choice, really; its an imperative."
- Michael Collins, Apollo 11

Todays Morning Motivator will be brief as I am taking a day to recharge my batteries.

Today I will be enjoying time with my good friends, Todd, Stefen and Jay, in Las Vegas CELEBRATING Stefen's upcoming marriage... (Yes, I'm at a bachelor party).

One of the most IMPORTANT reasons we work is to ENJOY the benefits of our labor. It is our TIME spent re-investing into our RELATIONSHIPS and PASSIONS that support our work efforts.

2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP:

To ensure you are RECHARING your batteries consistently, schedule a weekend trip for every 3 months. You don't need to go to great expense, simply FOCUS on spending time with those you CARE for and doing things you ENJOY.

These "mini-vacations" will serve as an EXCELLENT compliment to your annual retreats and provide you the MOTIVATIONS to keep driving forward!!

I will you each a delightful weekend. Be safe and have fun...

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 - Sometimes You Get Pooped On

"If I were to say, "God, why me?" about the bad things, then I should have said, "God, why me?" about the good things that happened in my life."
-Arthur Ashe

This will be a story you will enjoy... Yesterday, myself and 3 other immediate Junior Chamber leaders amassed at SATCO restaurant in Nashville for a meeting of the minds.

Our GOAL: to discuss the FORWARD motion of our group and how we BEST see ourselves ESTABLISHING the processes to ensure longevity.

We enjoyed COMPELLING discussion and at times found ourselves in AGREEMENT, then in DISAGREEMENT. What a great discussion! We settled on an ACTION PLAN and adjourned. As we were walking through the crowd of dining patrons to the parking garage and bird pooped on my face, REPEAT a bird pooped on my face... A freakin' bird POOPED on my face!!

Yes, it was EMBARRASSING to get pooped on in front of 50 people. Of course, it was a TERRIBLE thing, able to ruin my afternoon. How would you react?

2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP:
Okay, What's the lesson? The lesson is... Don't sweat the small stuff like bird poop.

If a bird pooping on you is the WORST thing to happen today, say your prayers and make them thankful. Have a laugh, enjoy the opportunity to share a great story, and show your QUALITY of character by being able to share in the humor. Great stories are hard to come by... I am CONFIDENT this one will be shared again today. =)

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 - Creating Your Future Alliances

"The portrait of success is painted many years before its viewed."
- Anonymous

This morning I sat with a gentleman that shared with me his ASPIRATIONS to become Mayor of the city of Nashville in 7 years. Very cool. But why tell me now?

He is STRATEGICALLY securing his future by laying the foundation for SUCCESS today. This gentleman believes that I have some value to him attaining his GOAL and by working with me early to understand his VISION and PASSIONS, he is helping to secure my support ongoing. Well played BT!

Are you PLANNING your future success today? Are you sharing your DREAMS with people that have the ability to SUPPORT you in your ACCOMPLISHMENT? Have you identified the type of contacts you NEED to make? The gentleman made a comment this morning I thought to be very poignant - "Never ask a question you do not already know the answer to." I imagine that later down the road, he will ask me for support of his DREAMS... and will already know the answer. That too, is very cool!

2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP:
At the root of all SUCCESS STEPS, we find the idea of GOAL PLANNING. By defining your short-term goals (30 days to 18 months) and long-term goals (3 year, 5 year and 10+ year), you are able to CLEARLY see the necessary steps required to fulfill your DREAMS. You can easily identify the resources needed - financially, politically, personally, professionally and spiritually. You can set into motion your STRATEGIC execution plans with timelines to help you better manage the success accomplishment.

By defining WHAT you want... you can more easily see HOW it needs to be done.

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 – Get Rid of the YES People

"When everyone is against you, it means that you are absolutely wrong-- or absolutely right."
- Albert Guinon

At a recent Junior Chamber meeting, we enjoyed a discussion regarding the effective BUILDING of strategic teams. Our speaker noted, as a LEADER, your goal in team building is to have a DIVERSE group of people that do NOT agree on everything – I repeat.. DO NOT agree on everything. Why?

Many LEADERS have their own agendas of what they want to see ACCOMPLISHED under their guidance, whether that be 30 days or 30 years. The CHALLENGE is… sometimes they are WRONG. How do you prevent against these errors? By CREATING a team of INDIVIDUALS with their own mind sets and beliefs of what should occur to GROW and ENHANCE the service or product offering. By establishing a team of varying VALUES and INSIGHTS, you create a positive nature of disagreement and competition. (As a leader, keep in mind, these are HEALTHY traits as long as they stay productive and not personal).

Ok, ok, a moment of self admittance. As a leader, I am a CONTROL FREAK. As a person, I am WORSE. Last night I was reminded that I cannot ASSUME to know all the steps after today or control the outcomes of the remainder of my life. This helps tie into the above discussion because again I am proven (again) to be NOWHERE near perfect and reminded of how APPRECIATIVE of the people around me, who are NOT my "yes people", rather more often – my "NO people". By having influences that counter my own thoughts, I am ensured to keep a POSITIVE outlook of "real success" and what the "value" of accomplishments truly are. You have the same people in your life… start listening.

2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP:

When making big decisions (or small ones with many additional steps to follow), consider developing a Board committee to aid you in the process. This Board does not need to be overly formalized with roles such as President and Treasurer, rather a group of varying trusted advisors that will have HONEST discussion with you and consistently tell you what you NEED TO HEAR , not what you want to hear. My only suggestion in developing this group is to have varying age ranges, while limiting the number of family members (your peers tend to think like you do and your family will always protect you).

By creating this committee of individuals, whom are invested in your success, you will find that you get BETTER IDEAS, ENHANCED PERSPECTIVES and the opportunity to GROW from others EXPERIENCES.

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 – 13.1 Miles of Growing

"Most people never run far enough on their first wind to find out they've got a second."
~William James

This past Saturday, I challenged myself by doing something I said 12 months earlier… I WOULD NOT DO AGAIN. I ran the Country Music Half Marathon. Last year, I had agreed with a buddy to run the 13.1 mile trek and committed to running in under 3:00:00. I trained hard for January and February of 2007 and then QUIT. Why? I don't know… I just lost FOCUS and later SUFFERED from it. I ran the 2007 Half Marathon in 3:05:00 – I FAILED to meet my goal. I said I would NOT run again.

Zoom forward to Winter 2007, when the Country Music Marathon promotion begins. I stared at the sheet, contemplating and resisting. And I STILL committed to doing it… why?! I had failed to meet my GOAL… I WILL achieve my goal, I thought. I trained December 2007, January - February of 2008 and then March… I get sick with a sinus infection and as last year, stop running. April 2008, a good friend, Rachael, MOTIVATES me to start running again, ending in a 9 mile (not 8 as she alluded to) in just over 2 hours. I am better PREPARED than last year…

The week of the race comes upon us (last week) and on Monday, I get ANOTHER sinus infection. Not good, yet I will NOT give up. I once heard a gentleman say "you are more than 50% accomplished if you 'just show up' to anything in life" – I stayed FOCUSED and I "showed up". I ran the race with my friends, Todd, Rachel and Nancy – all GREAT motivators (especially Nancy who kept kicking my tail to get going). So, what happened..?

2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP:

Regardless of the final results – I GREW as a person, by realizing that with a TEAM of support, you can OVERCOME any challenge and ACCOMPLISH any goal. I discovered the it is TRUE – "showing up is more than 50% of ACHIEVING your goals. I LEARNED that it's not my job (or yours) to ALWAYS be the stringer person… allow others to MOTIVATE you too! And I REAFFIRMED that LEADERSHIP starts by leading yourself!

Oh yeah, I finished in 2:50:15… shaved 15 minutes off last year's time. I feel ACCOMPLISHED … and you better believe you will see me out there NEXT YEAR! (and in Virginia Beach this later year). Keep PERSEVERING… you WILL achieve!

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.