Morning Motivator - Get a Real Education...

"Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education."
- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

When do we STOP learning? At what point are we as EDUCATED as can be? Why do we have such a FOCUS on continued learning?

As a learned society, we are always seeking ENHANCEMENT. Enhancement of self, status, finances and community. Yet, what is the GREATEST achievement of our education? It is the QUALITY of character we develop as a result of a greater understanding.

By improving our CHARACTER, we are able to more easily enhance ourselves and our surroundings. By furthering our EDUCATION, we are more able to enhance our CHARACTER...

2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP: Education is NOT always a formal setting of attending a class or seminar. More commonly, the BEST education is achieved by SELF-EDUCATION.

By committing to reading a chapter per day of a book, you are able to EDUCATE yourself. In this manner you are able efficiently and effectively LEARN, such that in a year you will become more the expert than most people with a FORMAL education.

Make a list of the 30 best books you can read to become an EXPERT in your area of interest. Use your local library or purchase them as you go down the list. You will see a distinct impact in your EDUCATION and CHARACTER growing daily...

Cheers, Zach

*To enjoy past editions of the Morning Motivator go to – http://grow-learn-lead.blogspot.com

Morning Motivator - Eliminate the Plague

"If you deprive yourself of outsourcing and your competitors do not, you're putting yourself out of business."
- Lee Kuan Yew

I just swung thorough Verizon Wireless in my small Louisiana town to pick up a charger when I overheard one of the best discussions recently.

The two gentlemen working behind the counter were discussing the "waste of time" they were spending by entering paperwork into their computer system when they should be chatting with clients or calling on businesses for new opportunities. HOLY SMOKES! Are you serious!? Even the young kids at Verizon get that they should be doing things that PRODUCE, not administrate.

How much of your day is DEDICATED to you growing your business or executing your primary job function? How much of it is wasted on emails, voicemail, snail mails, entering codes, updating databases, fixing forms? OMG!! Seriously, when does it end?

2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP: The TOP PRODUCERS in any industry have figured out one thing that others cannot yet seem to soak up. They OUTSOURCE!

Not necessarily to India or China, sometimes just simply to an assistant, a business partner or even a neighborhood kid. They pay someone to eliminate a service that does not drive their primary function in their business. They find ways to FOCUS solely on what they are supposed to be doing...

What would it take for you to eliminate the wasted tasks in your day? How many would cripple your business if you just stopped doing them today? What if you set up an automated response or an online tool to collect info? What if the clients managed their own information?!

Get creative! Look for ways to ELIMINATE anything that is not a function of your role. Then seek opportunities to DELEGATE those tasks to someone that you trust and can compensate at a lower rate than what you generate during that time. (i.e. If you can close an extra $1,000 deal and pay someone $100 to do 2 hours of paperwork...well, seems smart huh?!)

ISOLATE. ELIMINATE. DELEGATE WHAT REMAINS. Just try 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.

Morning Motivator - Better Business? How?

"You should join the Better Business Bureau."
-Concerned Patron

As many of you know, I frequently question the actions of businesses and their leaders. I believe that is how we make ourselves better. Next subject: Better Business Bureau (BBB).

What does the BBB do? How is that they create a "better business" environment? When people make complaints to the BBB, what happens? If you are like me, you have NO IDEA what the answers are to these questions...YET, everyone seems to think you should be a member. Hmmm...

I believe very deeply that business should be run better and also believe there is a group of people out there that is already in place to correct or eliminate businesses that are run poorly. Likely, you have met them before. Yep, clients (or customers as some call them).

2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP: The idea behind the BBB, as I understand it, it to create a common interest group of businesses committed to doing good business. HUH? Are all businesses not in the business of doing good business already?

When you walk in the door of a business, is their goal not to provide you a service or product at a price at which you are willing to buy? If the service is poor or the product is not a good fit, then you DO NOT BUY. Right? You SURELY do not go back!!

I am not calling for the banishment of the BBB, rather a new focus for business owners. When I see your BBB sign, I do not ASSUME you provide a great business experience. I wait until you impress or fail me before I pass that judgement...and will show it to you by whether I ever return!

Repeat clients. Now THAT is BETTER BUSINESS!

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 - I Couldn’t Say It Better -Take a Risk!

I have pirated this from a Nashville friend and unknowing mentor, Mr. Greg Goodman of Wells Fargo Mortgage. He is one of the most productive and successful people I know. Follow his blog at: http://greggoodman.typepad.com/my-blog/2011/09/are-you-avoiding-risk.html

Are You Avoiding Risk? I have a new habit these days of listening to books on audio while training for triathlons. For some reason if I listen to music I am still thinking about how much my body hurts and revisit this reoccuring thought every 3 1/2 seconds. But if I listen to books on audio my brain does not process physical pain as frequently. Never the less, I have been listening to Dale Carnegie's Leadership Series and had to pass the following concept of his on to others.

Sidney Dancoff was a leading scientist who often appeared in leading physics journals and scientific publications. About 50 years ago he introduced a concept called the Principle of Maximum Error. This principle was based on biophysics but actually relates very well to our everyday existence. The principle can be stated as follows: Optimum development occurs when an organism makes the maximum number of mistakes consistent with survival.

In other words, mistakes make meaningful contributions to our evolution into the individuals we were meant to be. This implies that risk is essential to success. Without a willingness to take calculated risk, we can never reach our full potential. I ask myself: in what areas of my life am I avoiding risk? Why am I avoiding risk?

The first step to meaningful change: Awareness

2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP: Awareness is the first step to meaningful change. How can I take a calculated risk in my life or career? Every opportunity worth seizing comes with some risk of failure. If the chances of success outweigh the risk of failure, the opportunity is worth the chance. Is it time to move into a new career? Is it time to buy the house you've had your eye on? Is it time to start that business and stop making excuses? The reason we celebrate success so jubilantly is because the possible failure was avoided in favor of a better outcome.

Helen Keller explained it best: "Security does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing."

Take the risk, and trust yourself to achieve your highest vision. What personal and professional risks have you taken (or decided against) that affected your success? - Greg

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 - HUDDLE UP!

"People who enjoy meetings should not be in charge of anything."
-Thomas Sowell

I LOVE the above quote. I have to admit that I dislike business meetings almost as much as I dislike talking on the phone (aka "a distant business meeting"). Also, I have found that meetings are often the replacement for productivity.

How dare you Zach!? How can you say that meetings take the place of productivity? Simple. Show me a manager that wants to meet all the time and I will show you someone that either: (1) does not know what they need to be doing daily or (2) has to validate their position with meetings. What a waste of time.

Ouch. Sorry. It is true. YET...there are GOOD meetings in this world! Short ones, like a huddle.

2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP: If you do not know who Verne Harnish is, you should get to know him. Start by joining his blog at http://verneharnish.typepad.com. Next go buy his book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits.

Verne ENCOURAGES business meetings! Actually he thinks you should have one DAILY! (But Zach, you just said they were a waste of time!)

Correct, yet, these meetings are EXCEPTIONAL! A daily meeting of your management team to define the TOP 5 goals for the day, along with a request for specific help from anyone that needs it. All done in... 14 minutes or less! WHOA!!

A brief, pointed, directed, impacting meeting that is just about business is a great idea. Put a time clock to it is even better! A football team "huddles" before almost every play. They do not discuss, they just listen and act.

Maybe your business should execute more like a football team and huddle on only what matters at the moment!

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.