Morning Motivator - Life at a Blur

"Many of lifes beauties are missed at 80mph. Walk through a community to see its real beauty."
- unknown

I overheard a discussion yesterday in which someone made the above comment. They were speaking in reference to driving down the interstate and never seeing some new developments... Of course, I wondered what the REAL message was.

For me, I see that we all live our lives at 80mph. We like FAST food, high internet speeds, BlackBerry® connectivity and act like we NEVER have time for a meeting. We truly are ADDICTS... And our DRUG is work.

Our culture is very INTERESTING to me. We say and do, two VERY different things. We speak of "life balance," but make an excuse to skip seeing a friend. We say HEALTH is critical, yet wont take 1 hour from our 12 hour work day to go to the gym. We tell our family that we LOVE them, then don't see them for weeks.

Its all a bit of a BLUR... And let me ask you, "what have you really gained?"

2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP:
Admittedly, I AM one of these people. I am in such a rush to get to my SUCCESS that I forget what it actually means.

Here are some of my thoughts on how to slow down... A little:
1. Have a weekly breakfast or lunch with someone to talk (not about business)
2. When you leave the office, leave your briefcase there too.
3. Your BlackBerry® is the best and worst thing you can own. When you are with someone, turn it to silent. If you are with your loved ones, leave it in another room. (Its ok. Trust me, you are not that important to have it 24hrs a day)
4. Take an early afternoon away from work and go to the park. Go walk or even sit, just enjoy the outdoors - its scents, sights and warmth.

If you slow to 20mph, you may be surprised that you still get where you are going... Its just a little more MEMORABLE.

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 - Finding Quality Time

"Time is an investment. It must be spent wisely to get the best out of it."
- unknown

What is your most VALUABLE asset? If you said TIME, you receive 1 Million points! (Don't spend them all in one place).

Time is the most LIMITED resource we have available. We KNOW a few things about time, such as, (1) we will never have more than 24 hours in a day (of which you will sleep 1/4 to 1/3), (2) you ARE on a limited time line and (3) the people that use time most EFFICIENTLY seem to free the most later on.

So HOW do others look at TIME? The TOP ACHIEVERS of the world treat their time, truly, as an INVESTMENT. They look to create a RETURN on their investment. They MEASURE the value of their actions during their time. They UNDERSTAND that time well spent will return to them in multiples.

2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP:
The key to VALUING your time, is learning to PROTECT it. When you begin to force others to RESPECT your time, your time, in turn, will become more VALUABLE.

How do you get people to RESPECT your time? BLOCK IT!

Set times for certain activities and DO NOT let anyone interrupt these hours!!! Repeat, NO ONE interrupts your time!

When others UNDERSTAND your time is to be treated as an INVESTMENT... They (and you) will begin to see better results of your time USE!

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 – 3 High Value Activities

"A nail is driven out by another nail. Habit is overcome by habit."
- Desiderius Erasmus

I played basketball last night with a "recovering smoker." This person has kicked the HABIT in an effort to better their health down the road. I applaud him for his EFFORTS and ponder a comment he made. He said to me, "the hardest thing about quitting this (smoking) is that I have to figure something to replace it with." Hmmm…

When I hear that, I wonder if we all REPLACE habits. Do we have a finite number of habits we are allowed to have? If we use one for NEGATIVE purposes, then does that take the place holder of what could be a POSITIVE ONE? What BAD habits do I have..? What SHOULD I replace them with?

When you examine the success (or failure) patterns of most people, you find a HABITUAL commitment to certain activities. For HIGH ACHIEVERS, many adopt a near obsessive pursuit of HIGH VALUE ACTIVITIES. For those CHALLENGED with finding success, we see a PERPETUAL cycle of POOR decision making. If you don't believe me, look at the most SUCCESSFUL person in your office and someone on the lower end… what is the big differences? Each get up and come to work. Both are intelligent. Each has 24 hours in their day. So what is the DIFFERENCE?

2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP:
Personally, I am one of those people that work very diligently to IMPROVE my high value activities each day. As a suggestion for those that don't seem to have the NATURAL gifts of those other high achievers, which includes myself, I have been SUGGESTED the following: Focus on the 3 HIGHEST value activities you can achieve in a day.

If your goals are to (1) increase your income, (2) improve your personal relationships and (3) enhance your health, then you should be able to IDENTIFY 1 single high value activity for each. The activity is the SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT occurrence of the day for that area. Nothing comes before it. Example: If your goal is to increase you income, take whatever action DIRECTLY affects that increase. (Doing paperwork is not it, not is Facebook). If you are seeking to ENHANCE your personal health… go to the gym and run for 30 mins. Whether before or after work doesn't matter, simply do it at your first possible chance and GET IT DONE!

When you begin to execute these HIGH value activities… you will find they become HABIT. Once they are HABIT, your success will naturally follow.

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 – Create a System for Better Client Experiences

"80% of referrals come during the purchasing process. If you wait until after, you have missed your chance."
- Greg Goodman, Countrywide Home Loans, Nashville

Finally, I was in attendance of a Professional Development meeting for the Nashville Junior Chamber. As President, I have NOT been an n excellent leader in this area… as this was my FIRST visit since Jun 2008. HOWEVER, I am reminded WHY these are such great events to attend.

Today, we had a presenter named Greg Goodman of Countrywide Home Loans. Greg has achieved and broken almost every individual sales record in SunTrust and Countrywide's mortgage groups. He spoke to us about GOAL SETTING. Even better, we were prompted to a discussion about SYSTEMATIC ACHIEVEMENT. Let me explain…

Achieving goals is not a great FEAT. It is simply the results of planning and execution. A SYSTEM provides standardization to that execution and accountability. By creating a systematic approach to your business, you are better able to ensure that you will ACHIEVE your goals, since you are able to measure, isolate problems and establish expectations. By ESTABLISHING a solid system, you will LIBERATE yourself from the low value efforts of your day and provide opportunity to ENHANCE client experiences. When you are able to FOCUS on the client and their experience, rather than the paperwork or "next steps," you are able to increase loyalty, trust and referrals.

2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP:
Systematic process management is not about REMOVING people from the process; rather it is about empowering people to add the BEST value in the process. By RELIEVING people of the burdens of trivial actions, you allow them to become dynamic, creative and customer centric. You provide them the MENTAL capital to see beyond the immediate needs or actions, and look into the bigger picture.

So ask yourself: If I didn't have to do all the MUNDANE activities that offer little value DIRECTLY to my clients experience… shouldn't I CEASE doing it? A process for completing those tasks will BETTER your client services, improve your productivity and ultimately, make you MUCH more valuable!

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 It Worth It?

"A passing comment may leave your mind once it leaves your mouth, yet it may stick forever with the person who receives it."
- unknown

Currently, I am reading a book about the HABITS people demonstrate that prevent them from achieving "next level" results. One of these habits is MAKING DESTRUCTIVE COMMENTS.

As human beings, we are CONSTANTLY in survival mode. We like to BELIEVE we are better than a badger or a dog, yet we too, are always seeking a leg up. Our innate desire to always WIN and come out on top, sometimes, can be more DAMAGING than working together.

The need to make stinging comments is a way of keeping people SUPPRESSED and POWERLESS - a common way of keeping yourself in power. Consider the LONG-TERM damages done though. Wouldn't it be better to ENHANCE others and build LOYALTY?

2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP:
POWER is a blend of CONTROL and EGO. Often, people seeking "power" are seeking control, as a result of a lack of control in their own life.

Realizing that you have only LIMITED control over the majority of life's experiences, allows you to LET GO and begin ENRICHING others.

If you are guilty of making those stinging comments, used to limit the power of others (and yes, we all do it!)... Simple take a DEEP breath next time you are about to comment. Then, ask yourself... Is It Worth It?

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.