Morning Motivator - Be an Artist

"To send light into the darkness of men's hearts - such is the duty of the artist."
-Robert Schumann

I really like the NCAA commercials that have been running over the past year. The commercial says something to the effect of, "we are all going pro, just not in sports." I find that to be very POIGNANT. Especially since most of those ATHLETES are true artists of their sports skills, yet most will likely never SHOWCASE that talent on a worldwide level. They WILL walk a different path.

Now think of yourself - what are you an ARTIST of? Better yet... have you ever CONSIDERED yourself to be an ARTIST of your skill? I would challenge you to BEGIN viewing yourself as though you were. Especially when you think about how you seek others to VIEW you. Who would they rather work with - someone that does their job or the ARTIST of their trade?

One meaning of being an artist is "a person whose work exhibits exceptional skill." Hmmm... does that DEFINE you and your professional excellence? If not, what steps can you take today to become an artisan of your craft?

2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP:
The entirety of this Morning Motivator is a CHALLENGE. If you are NOT yet an artist of your trade - why not? Is it that you are not putting in the WORK to become master skilled? Do you lack specific EDUCATION that would provide you additional capabilities? Or could it be that you simply do not CARE to become a master artist of your current profession?

In fact, if this is the case, I CHALLENGE you again to seek a career that provides you with the PASSION and DESIRE to become a master, a professional ... a REAL artist.

We all generally ACCEPT and logically AGREE with the rationale that if you do what you LOVE, you will do it better. If you pursue what your heart is DRIVEN towards, you will become a master of that skill. If you DEDICATE your being to your PURPOSE in life... you WILL become a true ARTIST in your lifetime.

So, Picasso... Does your current role give you the paint brush and canvas?

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 - Freezing in the Heat

"Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt."
- William Shakespeare, (1564-1616)

In the final 10 seconds of the game, who do you WANT to see get the ball? When the deal is in FINAL negotiation, who should make the call?

The amazing thing about pressure is that it causes the BEST (or worst) in us to emerge. Some people find an inner STRENGTH that allows them to rise to the occasion. For others, they FREEZE under the heat. What causes this VARIANCE?

Mostly, its FEAR. For some, extreme ANXIETY. Yet, this CAN be overcome...

2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP:
EXPERIENCE is a great teacher in overcoming the FREEZE we clash with under pressure. As we LEARN from our experiences, we gain the CONFIDENCE to look passed our doubts.

By focusing on ACTION and LEARNING, we can easily THAW the FREEZE of self-doubt.

Next time its "crunch time"... Wouldn't you LIKE to be the one the gets the call!?

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 Pain of Change

"Without the pain, we might not discover the motivation to change."
- Marshall Goldsmith

I once heard someone reference child BIRTH to personal growth. The comment was that "without pain and labor, new life would never be realized." Interesting concept when you take into CONSIDERATION that most of the hardest things in life that you had to work for are the ones you hold DEAREST to your heart.

Why CHANGE? To what ends does making the effort to gain more education, more income, better relationships or better health actually BENEFIT you? If you are doing well now... why not just KEEP DOING?

The simple fact is that we don't USUALLY see the damage we are doing until the PAIN exceeds the APATHY. We eat bad foods until we don't FIT in our jeans anymore. We start leaving work early until one day we get FIRED. We keep telling our spouse we will spend more time TOGETHER once the work is done... and then they leave. Are you ABLE to have the VISION to see the pain before it hurts??

2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP:
Write on a piece of paper the things you NEVER seek to become. Simple things: Overweight, lonely, broke, etc...

Now, let's REVERSE engineer the actions we need to take. Write next to the ANTI-GOAL, what things CONTRIBUTE to your eventual achievement, such as LACK of exercise or failing to take your spouse's calls.

Once you IDENTIFY the counter-productive action - note ONE activity you can execute weekly to help PREVENT the negative end result. Put that in your calendar as a RECURRING event. Protect it - do it - do not let anything come in its way!

Taking the small step will lead to bigger and better steps. Success is a process... so is failure. You take the steps each day - why not make the for the BEST?!

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 - Increase Your Failures

"Would you like for me to give you a formula for success, it is really quite simple. Double your rate of failure."
- Thomas J Watson, founder of IBM

So you want to be MORE successful? You want to GENERATE more income? You seek to ENHANCE your position in the community? All sounds nice... but HOW?!

Education always helps. Mentors also give an ADVANTAGE. The BEST way to become more successful is to just go out and get "kicked in the teeth" a few times. Not literally of course...

What I'm REFERRING to is the experiencing FAILURE. When you have a greater volume of failures in your experience, by design, you will also have a greater volume of ACCOMPLISHMENTS. As a PERFECTIONIST, I am challenged with failure. On occasion, I can even be PARALYZED by the fear of failure. Sometimes so much that, it causes a "miss" of OPPORTUNITY.

2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP:
How do you overcome? Simple... Take it in PERSPECTIVE.

In baseball, a 30% lifetime success rate in batting will get you in the Hall of Fame.

Most graduates are "C" students. C grade level is 70% accomplishment.

When you consider that most of the world's BEST ACHIEVERS are at most 70% accomplished, while the PREMIERE athletes of the world are excellent at 30%... Why EXPECT yourself to be 100%??

Just relax... ENJOY the experience and education of FAILURES... They pave the path to your DREAMS!

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 - Driving Down Change Boulevard

"Change is not a one-way street. It involves two parties: the person who's changing and the people who notice it."
- Marshall Goldsmith

I must say that I LOVE the people around me. I truly ENJOY all the Morning Motivator readers. Why this GUSHING show of affection? It spawns from the FEEDBACK I receive from you all. The most CHALLENGING part of making changes in your life, is making sure they are changes others can see.

Interestingly, many people feel very ACCOMPLISHED regarding changes they have made in their life. I APPLAUD those that have made the changes they felt necessary for themselves to be happy. I am CONFUSED sometimes by the people that make changes to please others, yet never receive recognition from others for it. Why is this?

He above quote makes a good REFERENCE to this disconnect. Often, we ASSUME (dangerous word) that they changes we are making are the "right" changes to remedy a solution, improve a relationship or achieve our growth goal. How would we know what needs to OCCUR in order for this positive change to be accepted? Commonly, the CHANGE we are making is to affect the action, feelings or thoughts of someone else. Shouldn't they be INVOLVED in the change too then?

2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP:
In my studies I have found that 2 fail points commonly occur in CHANGE MANAGEMENT.

One, there is no COMMUNICATION of the REAL challenge that is affecting the relationship. You often make the change without KNOWING what to change. Seems silly to shoot for a goal that you don't have CLEARLY defined, eh?

Secondly, the change maker fails to gain BUY IN/ACCEPTANCE from the person they are seeking to change for. Much like breaking a bad habit of being tardy to work, you must ACHIEVE an awareness and recognition of your focus from the person you are seeking to showcase this change to. If you boss BELIEVES you are late all the time, you change the habit, yet they never knew about your efforts... it's likely the will not come to the REALIZATION of your change on their own. Often, that person has already "written you off."

In order for you to ACHIEVE the RESULTS you seek in making changes - you must clearly IDENTIFY the behavior that needs adjustments and gain AWARE ACCEPTANCE of the change from the people that are affected by your behavior. By establishing the proper platform and audience... your change will affect EVERYONE that is involved!

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.