"Life is either a great adventure or nothing."
- Helen Keller
Yesterday, I made an announcement of some personal BIG NEWS. With a tearful eye and hopeful heart, I am wishing my home city of Nashville "adieu", as my fiancée, Nancy, has accepted a job in Lafayette, La. starting August 1st, 2010.
As a 16 year resident of Nashville, I have "grown up" here from a scared high school kid from Southern California to a confident leader and man amongst a wonderful community of like minded leaders in Nashville. And now, there is a new CHALLENGE, a new ADVENTURE…
We all face ADVERSITY in our lives, some negative, some positive (as this is). Yet, we all are CHALLENGED to overcome unfamiliar situations and are asked to be STRONGER than we have been in order to better the lives of those around us. You have a CHOICE – accept this challenge and ATTACK the new adventure… or… pout, cry and complain about how DIFFICULT it will be. I suspect you are the former, not the latter.
2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP:
In order to better yourself, you MUST get outside your comfort zone. You must CHALLENGE your skills.
For me, this is an OPPORTUNITY to use the wonderful learning I have received from my mentors, friends, colleagues and supporters. I have the opportunity to share YOUR talents with those that I have not yet met. This is MY opportunity to prove to myself that I am as good as I think I am.
Our confidence and self-assurance will ALWAYS lead us to success. Our FOCUS and mental acuity will continue to allow us to affect positively those around us.
Will you be ready to ACCEPT the adventure that is soon to face you? Are you WILLING to accept the challenge??
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 – Success is an Organized Activity
"Organizing is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it is not all mixed up."
- A. A. Milne
When I run a trade show, I use a CHECKLIST that defines every item needed, important contact and person attending. WHY? I do it so as to MITIGATE the risk of failing upon arrival due to a simple, easy to make, oversight. Amazingly… IT WORKS!
How ORGANIZED are you? This is not a self assessment of the "cleanliness" of your work space, as that does not directly reflect organization. This is a QUESTION of resource availability and limited errors. This is your ABILITY to get it done – now, fast and accurately!
Organization is COLLECTING all the necessary tools and creating a "toolbox" you can access easily to solve challenges. For some of us, we need reports and spreadsheets. For others, we need contacts and connectivity.
Whatever your game, you should have EASY access to your tools and have them arranged in a manner to use that is efficient for your people.
2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP:
Getting ORGANIZED is much easier than people think. It is a simple EXAMINATION of the few critical business functions or actions you make daily.
By spending the time to ANALYZE your workflow, you can identify which documents are needed, what information is required, who is to receive said information and what the next steps are for the client. Creating FORMS that detail these steps, with checklists to ensure that all NECESSARY items are included, will allow you to INCREASE workload and productivity, while DECREASING errors and dissatisfaction.
If you could do more, with less – why wouldn't you? If you could make more, doing less – why wouldn't you? And now that you know ORGANIZATION is a key to your success – why aren't you? (and I hope you are!)
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.
- A. A. Milne
When I run a trade show, I use a CHECKLIST that defines every item needed, important contact and person attending. WHY? I do it so as to MITIGATE the risk of failing upon arrival due to a simple, easy to make, oversight. Amazingly… IT WORKS!
How ORGANIZED are you? This is not a self assessment of the "cleanliness" of your work space, as that does not directly reflect organization. This is a QUESTION of resource availability and limited errors. This is your ABILITY to get it done – now, fast and accurately!
Organization is COLLECTING all the necessary tools and creating a "toolbox" you can access easily to solve challenges. For some of us, we need reports and spreadsheets. For others, we need contacts and connectivity.
Whatever your game, you should have EASY access to your tools and have them arranged in a manner to use that is efficient for your people.
2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP:
Getting ORGANIZED is much easier than people think. It is a simple EXAMINATION of the few critical business functions or actions you make daily.
By spending the time to ANALYZE your workflow, you can identify which documents are needed, what information is required, who is to receive said information and what the next steps are for the client. Creating FORMS that detail these steps, with checklists to ensure that all NECESSARY items are included, will allow you to INCREASE workload and productivity, while DECREASING errors and dissatisfaction.
If you could do more, with less – why wouldn't you? If you could make more, doing less – why wouldn't you? And now that you know ORGANIZATION is a key to your success – why aren't you? (and I hope you are!)
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 - Your Master Plan
"If haven't thought about where you want to end up, then you have no idea where you are."
- Unknown
Ask someone close to you to DESCRIBE what they want for their future. Ask them for DETAILS about specific areas of their life - wealth, career, health, religion. Do they have a MASTER plan?
While we all will say we want to be HAPPY in the future, we don't often know what that means. We may say we want to be HEALTHY and not know if we are "healthy" today.
Defining WHAT you want your life to look like is VERY IMPORTANT. By providing yourself a ROADMAP you are able to make appropriate changes as you become CLEARER about your desires.
2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP:
Start SIMPLE. What do you want of your career in 3 years? Income, title, work hours. BE SPECIFIC.
If you don't know where to start (yikes!), just start by BRAINSTORMING. Write as much on paper as you can about it. Write down descriptive words and TIMELINES.
Once you are able to battle through DEFINING your short term career MASTER PLAN, move on to health, relationships and religion. Pick more as needed... And keep the paperwork near to you. It will come in handy when you have a TOUGH decision.
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.
- Unknown
Ask someone close to you to DESCRIBE what they want for their future. Ask them for DETAILS about specific areas of their life - wealth, career, health, religion. Do they have a MASTER plan?
While we all will say we want to be HAPPY in the future, we don't often know what that means. We may say we want to be HEALTHY and not know if we are "healthy" today.
Defining WHAT you want your life to look like is VERY IMPORTANT. By providing yourself a ROADMAP you are able to make appropriate changes as you become CLEARER about your desires.
2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP:
Start SIMPLE. What do you want of your career in 3 years? Income, title, work hours. BE SPECIFIC.
If you don't know where to start (yikes!), just start by BRAINSTORMING. Write as much on paper as you can about it. Write down descriptive words and TIMELINES.
Once you are able to battle through DEFINING your short term career MASTER PLAN, move on to health, relationships and religion. Pick more as needed... And keep the paperwork near to you. It will come in handy when you have a TOUGH decision.
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 – Opening Your Mind
"Where there is an open mind there will always be a frontier."
- Charles F. Kettering
Ok, ok, ok… I am going to ADMIT something I never have before. I am SUPER-IMPRESSED by the iPad and iPhone. I am a long-term endorser of the BlackBerry, its FUNCTIONALITY and usability, yet, this "iWorld" is very interesting.
This morning, I enjoyed breakfast and a MIND OPENING discussion with long time friend and superior entrepreneur, Philip Steen, owner of Nashville Sports Leagues. We met to discuss the advanced uses of TECHNOLOGY including Google Apps, website integrations and the ways to create "depth" within our markets utilizing these (and other) such technologies.
What I found most INTERESTING was my ability to "see" all the potential uses of these "iTechnologies' once I released my prejudices against Apple and BlackBerry. By allowing myself to LISTEN and HEAR a varied perspective, I have also increased my learning and creativity! (Thank Phil!)
2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP:
As someone that is a PROPONENT of continued learning, I am amazed at the simplicity to become JADED and CLOSED to new ideas. The BlackBerry world is so deeply integrated into my being that I denied any other options to even be considered.
Now, I may not CHANGE my tools, but at least I am thinking about how to better use what I have, OR, look at alternatives to create more efficiency and effectiveness.
How many ideas have you REJECTED on principal alone? How many are UNJUSTIFIED? How many OPPORTUNITIES have you overlooked because of your EGO?
Maybe it is time to OPEN your mind… if "iCan," then "uCan" too! =)
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.
- Charles F. Kettering
Ok, ok, ok… I am going to ADMIT something I never have before. I am SUPER-IMPRESSED by the iPad and iPhone. I am a long-term endorser of the BlackBerry, its FUNCTIONALITY and usability, yet, this "iWorld" is very interesting.
This morning, I enjoyed breakfast and a MIND OPENING discussion with long time friend and superior entrepreneur, Philip Steen, owner of Nashville Sports Leagues. We met to discuss the advanced uses of TECHNOLOGY including Google Apps, website integrations and the ways to create "depth" within our markets utilizing these (and other) such technologies.
What I found most INTERESTING was my ability to "see" all the potential uses of these "iTechnologies' once I released my prejudices against Apple and BlackBerry. By allowing myself to LISTEN and HEAR a varied perspective, I have also increased my learning and creativity! (Thank Phil!)
2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP:
As someone that is a PROPONENT of continued learning, I am amazed at the simplicity to become JADED and CLOSED to new ideas. The BlackBerry world is so deeply integrated into my being that I denied any other options to even be considered.
Now, I may not CHANGE my tools, but at least I am thinking about how to better use what I have, OR, look at alternatives to create more efficiency and effectiveness.
How many ideas have you REJECTED on principal alone? How many are UNJUSTIFIED? How many OPPORTUNITIES have you overlooked because of your EGO?
Maybe it is time to OPEN your mind… if "iCan," then "uCan" too! =)
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 Growth
"Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place."
- Lance Armstrong
PAIN is a feeling most of us seek to avoid as much as able. "Pain" comes in VARYING forms - awkwardness, social discomfort, physical discomfort, mental strain and more. Anyone that KNOWS pain does not seek it out.
Oddly, pain is a great INDICATION of growth. When we lose a love, we ache. Yet, we LEARN to love deeper. When we EXERCISE, our muscles cramp, and then our endurance soon improves. As we struggle to UNDERSTAND new ideas, we feel stress, right before we achieve ENLIGHTMENT.
PAIN is your sign that GROWTH is occurring... RAPIDLY!
2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP:
A life lacking discomfort is a life WITHOUT challenge. A life without challenge is a LIFE not worth living.
CHALLENGE yourself to experience some pain daily. Hit the GYM for an hour and bust your butt! Read a book that challenges your UNDERSTANDING and create an argument to defend it.
By creating PAIN situations for yourself, you will create RESILIENCY, as well as GROWTH that will enhance your personal and professional well being...
And when you do EXPERIENCE unexpected pain, you will be less likely to be hurt by 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.
- Lance Armstrong
PAIN is a feeling most of us seek to avoid as much as able. "Pain" comes in VARYING forms - awkwardness, social discomfort, physical discomfort, mental strain and more. Anyone that KNOWS pain does not seek it out.
Oddly, pain is a great INDICATION of growth. When we lose a love, we ache. Yet, we LEARN to love deeper. When we EXERCISE, our muscles cramp, and then our endurance soon improves. As we struggle to UNDERSTAND new ideas, we feel stress, right before we achieve ENLIGHTMENT.
PAIN is your sign that GROWTH is occurring... RAPIDLY!
2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP:
A life lacking discomfort is a life WITHOUT challenge. A life without challenge is a LIFE not worth living.
CHALLENGE yourself to experience some pain daily. Hit the GYM for an hour and bust your butt! Read a book that challenges your UNDERSTANDING and create an argument to defend it.
By creating PAIN situations for yourself, you will create RESILIENCY, as well as GROWTH that will enhance your personal and professional well being...
And when you do EXPERIENCE unexpected pain, you will be less likely to be hurt by 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.
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