Morning Motivator - Why Not Ask?

"I look at it like a break even. If you say no, I'm no worse off than before. If I don't ask, then I may have missed out. If you say yes, then I win."
- Jason Denenberg, Nashville Junior Chamber President-Elect

In my cold calling this morning, I was greeted by a less than PLEASANT reception when I asked to speak to a business owner.

The lady told me that the company president was NOT interested in what we were offering. Interesting... Since she probably DOESN'T make daily decisions and is likely not a mind reader. Yet, I push forward and ask to send him some info on our group. Dead end again. I asked is there a BEST way to set a professional appointment in the future. "We won't need it," I am told.

Ok,ok,ok... I finally DECIDE I have had enough beating on this one and say, "Thank you. It never hurts to ask." Frustrated by her inability to better MANAGE this interaction, I thought of my good friend Jason's comments. I guess I at least broke even... nothing gained, nothing lost.

2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP:
How often do you walk away from a situation kicking yourself, wishing you would have just ASKED for what you really wanted?

Do you ever feel like you sold yourself SHORT by being to chicken to say what's on your mind?

Next time it happens, just remember the wisdom of an emerging Nashville leader... Just ask - the worst that can happen is that you BREAK EVEN.

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 – A Mind for Success

"Think continually about what you want, not about the things you fear."
-Brian Tracy

In order for us to become great leaders of others, we must first MASTER leadership of ourselves. We must learn to ENABLE ourselves to leverage our strengths, IDENTIFY and EXTINGUISH our limitations while INCREASING our self-confidence. Sounds easy huh?

When you face a DIFFICULT project – what passes through your mind? If you lost your job today – what would your EMOTIONS look like? Do you see a problem as a hurdle or an opportunity? Likely, we will all say that we face each project with a cool CONFIDENCE knowing we can get it done, if we lost our job, we would get out and get a BETTER job the next day and EVERYTHING that's difficult is just an "opportunity" to be excellent, right?! Now… what do you REALLY think?? Be CANDID with yourself (no one else will know) and consider what you would do… how you would act … and what you would think!

I, admittedly, am a person that can get SUCKED IN to a negative mindset if I am not consciously thinking about STAYING POSITIVE and ATTACKING challenges. Likely, we all do. GREAT NEWS! If you know that you are that person, you can easily IDENTIFY that trait in yourself. You can then more quickly recognize you are walking the wrong path and QUICKLY change to a POSITIVE attitude of success and achievement.

2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP:
If you are not familiar with Napoleon Hill… you need to be. He's not the great French leader, Napoleon Bonaparte (my personal favorite of all historical bad guys); rather he is a great LEADER of motivation and attitude. Mr. Hill is the author of Think and Grow Rich, a lifetime best seller and a MUST in any business person's collection.

THINK … and GROW rich huh? Is it that easy? Just THINK about it and it will happen? Possibly - when you consider the Law of Attraction and the continued success that this mentality reflects. Frequently, we do find that things come more NATURALLY to us when we have a positive mindset and EXPECT success as the only result. It is when we allow FEAR and DOUBT to create hurdles in our minds that those hurdles become more apparent in our daily lives, thus defeating us mentally.

Change your ATTITUDE through the weekend. If you have a less than desirable attitude this week – have a good one! If you have a good attitude – have a GREAT one! Think about what POSITIVE things you want to happen this week and weekend… see how many show up on your doorstep shortly thereafter.

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 - What I Believe... (the Response of a Reader)

"I honestly think it is better to be a failure at something you love than to be a success at something you hate."
- George Burns

Thank you to one of my good friends and BEST supports, Arlene Raines. You are the best! Here is Arlene's response to a recent Morning Motivator...

I have come to believe, for myself at least, that "SUCCESS", as measured in striving for and acquiring the car, house, spouse, beach house, etc is ILLUSIVE. We think acquiring those things means we have ATTAINED success. And we think attaining "success" will make us HAPPY. But, once having gained those things we set our sights on, we RESET our measure of success and are AGAIN quickly striving to attain something we don't yet have...a nicer car, bigger house, a better job, etc., i.e.,...."THE WORLD'S VIEW OF SUCCESS".

The reason I think we reset our measure of success is because acquiring the trappings of success DOESN'T really make us happy or content. Oh, it's FUN to have nice things and to be admired by others for those things, at least at a surface level. But, I think what we all really want, deep down, is to be LOVED, VALUED and ACCEPTED for who we are, not for what we do for a living, how nice the house is we live in or for the things we have. Unfortunately, we OFTEN mistake or accept the admiration and envy of others for love, acceptance and value.

I think we only "get there" when we are no longer worried about IMPRESSING ourselves or others with the trappings of "success". I think we only "get there" when we can see the INTRINSIC value in ourselves as well as the intrinsic value in others, not just in those in our circle of friends, not just in those who can help us out professionally, but in those who aren't "there"; the homeless man on the street or the garbage man who serves us every week; those who can't help us at all.

2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP:
When we can see little difference except for opportunity or circumstance between ourselves and the man who collects our garbage or the mail room clerk at our office, or even the homeless guy on the street, I think we have attained LASTING "success".

When we can be happy and content with who and where we are TODAY, then we are truly "successful" in the things that matter most in life. Of course, being content DOES NOT mean we have no ambition, no need of improvement or that we don't need to strive to do a good job, to be a good boss, a good friend, a good spouse, a good parent, etc. It doesn't mean we no longer seek to achieve or better ourselves.

It just means we can be content in whatever circumstance we find ourselves at the moment, even without the perfect job, car or house. Interestingly enough, when we FORGET about how others judge success and focus on real "success" in living life, our achievements will come and be sweeter than ever. TIME and PATIENCE will get us many of the things we "want", things the world says we need to be "successful". The difference is that the JOURNEY will be sweeter and our happiness won't depend on whether we meet someone else's standards of success.

Well, there's my "sermon" for the day. Thanks so much for your inspiration, both with the Morning Motivator and as my friend. Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

- Arlene

Thank you Arlene... I couldn't have said it better myself! =)

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 - Care for Yourself... All of Yourself

"Mental health problems do not affect three or four out of every five persons but one out of one."
- Dr. William Menninger

By 35 years of age, I plan to return to school and ATTAIN my Master's degree in Psychology. Many ask, "Why psychology? I thought you were a business guy?" I am... and MORE. So... why psychology? Well, I BELIEVE that most people are pretty good about CARING for their body. We try to eat right, exercise, take vitamins, etc... Yet, a vast MAJORITY of us do not care for our emotional/mental health very well at all...

What would you do if you had a cold, a broken ankle or trouble with your vision? You would likely visit a professional! And what do you do when you are Overwhelmed with FEAR, ANXIETY or SADNESS? Go home and tough it out... right?!

I am unsure why it is we STIGMATIZE people for pursuing emotional SUPPORT or GROWTH in a time of need? It's FAIR to say that almost everyone has experienced an incident that would have been easier to manage with professional support. I recognize that in the USA, there is a stereotype around mental health support, yet, I wonder... How much better would we all be, if we spent less time caring for our business, wealth, 6pack abs, etc and more time taking care of our EMOTIONS?

Is your emotional health not as CRITICAL (or more) than your physical well being?

2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP:
With so much doom and gloom being CRAMMED down out throats by world media outlets, the BURDENS of undue pressure can begin to weigh down.

There are many ways to ACHIEVE emotional support. Of course, you can seek a psychologist for counseling, which is the most effective way of working through your challenges. You may also seek the guidance of a mentor, the support of a family member or even writing your emotions on paper can help.

When you decide that your emotional well being is just as important as your physical strength, you will transcend the SUCCESS gap and find the secret that top achievers know... you MUST take care of yourself - ALL of yourself!

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 - Where Do I Start?

"Begin somewhere. You cannot build a reputation on what you intend to do."
- Elizabeth Smith

I feel very FORTUNATE. Yesterday, as I was going to eat with Nancy at Jason's Deli, I saw an old friend of mine - Dr. Jason Wolf. Jason was President of the Nashville Area Junior Chamber of Commerce when I joined. Unknowingly, he is one of the most SIGNIFICANT people in my life. Let me share with you why.

In 2003, as a new member of the Nashville Junior Chamber, my REPUTATION was that of a "loud mouth." I was VERY good at PROVIDING my opinion, ideas and critiques regarding our group... accompanied with very little SUBSTANCE on "how" to EXECUTE any of my ideas. I was "ALL TALK - NO ACTION."

One day, as I approached (President) Jason Wolf (yet again), with one of my ideas (again), he stopped and said, "Zach, what are you going to do about it?!" I was FLOORED. It was the first time someone had called me out on the ACTION to follow the idea. Commonly, people say, "oh ok, thanks. I'll think about it", which is followed by them taking the SAME actions you will... NONE. This time, however, I was DIRECTLY challenged to action. He asked again and again, "so, what are you going to do about it?"

Finally, as I grew overly FRUSTRATED, I said, "I'm just going to go start it and see where it goes!" He got his way... and led me on the path to mine. This was the day that I REALIZED that my ACTIONS would have to be my reputation, not my ideas. It is great to have GRANDIOSE ideas... yet better to have effective SOLUTIONS. My lesson learned: Even if you take a step in the WRONG direction - at least it's a step (which is more than most others).

Thank you Jason... learning this changed my life!

2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP:
When people say, "I know what I want to do, but I don't know where to start," the BEST direction you can provide is: "just start anywhere, you will find your direction much easier that way."

Think about it. How many times have you started a project with no idea how to do it? What did you do? You just started doing the smallest part you UNDERSTOOD. What happened next? You began to more CLEARLY see what the next steps were. Eventually, you found the end goal you were seeking and LEARNED a lot along the way.

The MOST important piece to a puzzle is NOT "how" to do it... it is the WILLINGNESS to learn through action. If you already KNEW the answer, why ask the question? It's the ACTIONS you take to achieve your goals that create your REPUTATION as a DYNAMIC, CREATIVE, PROBLEM SOLVING professional. Just get started... you WILL find the way!

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.