Scripture of the Day

Saturday, January 30, 2010

How Goals become Reality

Last week we covered the five conditions needed to set proper goals. Hopefully you took the time over the weekend and actually put your goals down on paper. If you did, congratulations you are halfway there. If you didn't, do it now!

The next step is developing a plan to bring those goals to life and then keeping them alive. The strategy I find most effective is using a system consisting of daily priorities, activities, and affirmations.

These three steps are vital in reaching your goals. Without a plan, your goals will end up in the goal grave yard with countless others that didn't construct a solid plan and stick to it.

We will cover each of these steps over the next three days and then I am off to our annual managers meeting in Atlantic City.

Face of Betrayal, Lis Wiehl

Face Of Betrayal
Lis Wiehl
Thomas Nelson

I joined booksneeze.com. This was started by Michael Hyatt, CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers. By joining you can receive free books if you agree to do a review on them once you complete them. The link is at the bottom of the page.

Face of Betrayal, is an interesting story of three lady friends that work together to help solve crimes while working on their own lives. Had sort of a CSI feel to it.

The story moves along fairly well although it had too many subplots for me to deal with. I was disappointed in the lack of a solid christian perspective. There were a few prayers scattered throughout and that was really about all. I felt the three main characters could have been defined deeper. More about their past would have added great dimension to the story line.

Overall the book was good and I would recommend it as a secular more than a christian novel. My two daughters, ages 21 and 19 are looking forward to reading this book and they will enjoy it. I would read another book by Lis Wiehl.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Goals and Change pt 5

We have covered the five conditions for proper goal setting. Now lets show some examples. Please note I am not diminishing the goals in the "not good". Only the way they are structured.

Good: I want to increase my earnings by 20% over the next 6 months.
Not Good: I want to make more money

Good: I will be at every basketball game my son this season
Not Good: I need to spend more time with my son.

Good: I will write 3000 words per week for the next 6 months.
Not Good: I need to finish my next soon.

Goals do not have to be complicated or complex to be effective. They are best when they are simple, especially if you are new at this.

I read somewhere only 3% of the population have written goals. Yet those 3% earn more than the entire 97% without written goals combined.

Next week we will explore how to reach the goals you have set this week. Have a great weekend and may God continue to bless and protect you and yours.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Goals and Change

The last of the five conditions is that your goals have to be believable- to you. It does not matter what anybody else thinks. All that matters is what you think.

If you believe you can, or if you believe you cant, you are right! Have belief in your goals.

Tomorrow we will summarize and give a few examples of proper goals.

Pictures are awesome aren't they?

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Goals, Cont'd

The next two conditions for proper goals; they must be attainable and they must be written.

What good is a goal if you can't attain it? This will only lead to frustration and the eventuality of you leaving it behind. The goal grave yard is chock full of unattainable goals! To set a goal of making $100,000 in the next 12 months when you the most you have only made was $20,000 is possible, but is it attainable? Maybe set it for $50,000 then $100,000.

Why is it important to write your goals down? First, it cements them into your mind subliminally. Next, you see them in front of you regularly. Lastly, they become public and this forces you to act on them.

The often forgotten step here is to write them down at least once per day, every day. The best time is when you first awake each morning. This step again keeps them fresh in your mind.

God bless


Monday, January 25, 2010

Goals, cont'd

Yesterday we covered the five major conditions needed to set proper goals. The first two being they must be measurable and have a time-frame. Here is why.

If your goal is, "to make more money each year." Would you say that is a good goal? Does it include the five conditions? No it does not.

First it is not measurable, and it does not have a time-frame. How much is more? Does earning $1 more constitute achieving your goal? What if it takes 20 years to earn that $1? Will that be a successful goal?

Try this instead.

"I am going to make 20 percent more over the next 12 months than I made over the last twelve months."

This includes all five conditions of proper goal setting. Remember setting goals without the 5 conditions are nothing more than fantasies.

Goals and Change

Behind any meaningful change there has to be a motivation to change. That motivation is most effectively shown as a goal. Goals can be anything that leads you to sustained action and goals are usually material in nature.

Setting goals can be difficult if you don't have a guideline to follow. Here is your guideline.
1. They must be measurable.
2. They must have a time-frame.
3. They must be attainable.
4. They must be written.
5. They must be believable.

Poor goals or no goals can cause frustration and will sabotage you from reaching them. We will cover each step in detail throughout the week.
In the meantime, start by making one or two goals today. By the end of the week you'll know if they fit the model of a proper goal and one worth striving for.
God Bless!

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Change continues

Several years back I mentored a young man. He had great potential and took over for me when I took another position within the company. We keep in touch from time to time. I received an email from him him earlier in the week and gave him a call and discovered he had since changed companies and was not real happy in the new position.

Even though it was several years since we spoke there was one trait that came out within seconds. He finishes every sentence with, "and everything." He is very intelligent, yet speaks with little confidence.

There are other common speech destroyers such as using "like" over and over again. Using the phrase,"you know what I mean" at the end of each sentence. Injecting Umm's and Ahh's. The list goes on...

When communicating verbally it is vital to speak with confidence. Practice in front of a camera and view the tape. Count how many Umm's and how many pauses you have.

There are no substitutes for solid communication skills. None.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Change, Continued or should I say Continues...

A good sign of whether a person has changed on the inside is how they look on the outside as well as how they communicate. Let me explain.

There are basically three types of communication, verbal, non-verbal and written. Studies show that Non-verbal may account for 70% of any conversation. I do not have any evidence to confirm or deny this claim, but here is my take of why each factor is equally important.

If you are the most gifted and eloquent speaker ever to grace the earth, yet you haven't showered in a week, wear clothes that need cleaning etc. Your message may not reach the intended audience.

Or, if you are the best looking, best dressed, practice all the right non-verbal signals yet you cant put two sentences together that make any sense. Your message may not reach the intended audience.

Same with written communication. You can have the best ideas ever yet use poor grammar, misspelled or wrong words, etc. The message will not be received with credibility.

What does this have to do with change?

Everything.

If you want to succeed you had better take your communication skills seriously and that may mean attend workshops to improve. Self improving equals personal change. Personal change is essential to keep pace today and in the future.

God Bless.

Monday, January 18, 2010

Change is inevitable, But self-improvment is optional

As leaders we all face change. It happens with or without us. What about self- improvement? Improving ourselves cannot happen without our permission. Yet many leaders fail to take the time to learn new ways to make things happen.

They will listen to radio rather than audio programs while in the car.
They watch TV rather than reading at night.
They wonder why they stagnate at a certain level of their careers.

The saying, "If you are not growing, you are dying" applies not only to business, but also to leaders on a personal level.

What have you been doing to keep up with your industry and to make yourself a better leader?

What did you learn last week that will help you this week?

God bless!


Saturday, January 16, 2010

Quick weekend post

Off to Lancaster, PA. for my first meeting with this writers group. Look forward to hearing ideas and advice from the published writers. Part of leading is submitting yourself to learning from others that have been successful. It is called humility! Then off to Josh's fourth game.

Have an awesome weekend. We'll talk again Monday morning bright and early.

God Bless.

Friday, January 15, 2010

Saving Grace...Incorporated

The title of my blog today is also the title of my first book. The anticipated release of the book is the main reason for my blog. Both of these processes require motivation to endure.

Without motivation:
Sleeping in would easily become a substitute for blogging at 5:30 AM.
Watching TV would easily take the place of revising the manuscript for the umpteenth time.
Life in general would go on without any real meaning or direction.

Writing properly is difficult. More so than I ever imagined when I started 3.5 years ago. My book started as a non-fiction manual combining leadership and management. It has now taken on a whole new life as a full fledged fictional story with the same theme. However, I now have to learn how to write fiction on the fly.

I could give up like many others. That would be easy. Quitting is not and will never be an option in my life anymore. I watch my wife going through nursing school and my kids struggling daily and realize every day that I am truly blessed.

My Awesome wife and kids are my motivation and there is no way I am going to let them down. So time to suck it up and press on. Review and reset my goals, reaffirm my priorities, recite my mission statement and get back to work.

The only question I have for you today, "What are you waiting for?" Make your comment and get back to work.

Have a great weekend and may God's blessing be with you and yours continually!

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Last Nights Basketball Game

Josh had his third game last night. The team had focus and energy, unlike Monday night. That is until one of our best players called off due to the flu. Our teams other top player has a tendency to lose his cool and has already been tossed from one game.

Josh went to him and told him how much the team is counting on him tonight and to keep his cool on the floor. He responded with his best game of the season and we won by three points.

Great leadership by both boys and a great effort by the whole team led to a victory last night.

These situations help form our youth into great adults. Do you have any stories to share?

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

What is Motivation

Motivation can be defined as being moved into action. Something, not someone has to actually get you moving towards your goal. Inertia needs to be created and if enough inertia is created it is nearly impossible to overcome. That something is the reward for reaching the desired goal.

People will work hard for what they want. They will work hard to make their ideas come to life. As a good leader your job is to get to know your people well enough to understand what turns them on. Find out what they want to achieve and help them reach those levels.

True motivation must come from within ourselves. This is what we commonly refer to as self-motivation. It is virtually impossible for someone else to motivate another human being without using intimidation.

You build self-motivated by helping others reach their dreams, not by forcing others to help you reach yours. If the dreams don't mesh, you need a new team or new teammates.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Motivation

One of my daily priorities is to get up early (4:30 AM) and spend 30 minutes on the treadmill and 30 minutes on the bow-flex each morning. I write this goal down along with a few others as I perform my affirmation and personal mission statement ritual each morning. Yet for some reason this one activity eludes me.

Why? Because I am not moved to act on it. Which brings me to this weeks topic. Motivation.

How do you get motivated?

How do you get fired up each day to accomplish your goals?

James



Monday, January 11, 2010

A Brand New Week

Each new week brings its own set of challenges. As leaders we must find innovative ways to deal with and overcome them. This week in addition to our full time jobs we have:

3 basketball games for our Son

1 major Pharmacology exam for my Awesome Wife

3 classes for my Awesome wife

Whatever else the week brings.

Should be exciting as we manage our life using God's guidance and solid leadership principles.

Any thoughts about your week?

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Renewal

For the past week or so I was stuck in my writing and having a difficult time moving my story forward. We went to church this morning and the message was right on target and exactly where I was stuck! Imagine that! Made me realize two things...again.
1. Spend quality time in God's word
2. Go to church consistently

These two go hand in hand and it is foolish to think that I can get revelation when not spending time with God. Lesson learned.

Have you had any of these moments lately?


Saturday, January 9, 2010

Sports and Leadership

Our youngest son, Joshua (15) has his first basketball game today at 3 PM. He is the starting point guard this year. For those of you unfamiliar with the duties of a point guard, they are similar to a Quarterback in football. (If you don't know what a QB does, well read on anyway).

A point Guard runs the offense. He is the leader of the team. This is a new position for him and Josh has not played much organized sports in his life. Over the last year though he has really come into his own and should perform excellently. I am very eager to see how he grows his leadership abilities.

Any comments?

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

What is Leadership?

How do you define Leadership? How do you define Management? Do you feel one is more important then the other?

What is Leadership?

Leadership touches every part of our life. Our financial lives, our personal lives, our spiritual lives and our work lives. No matter where we are in any area of our life, our leadership skills or lack there-of will dictate how well or how poorly we handle ourselves in these areas. With this is mind there are several questions to ask:
  1. Do you agree that leadership is vital in these areas?
  2. How do you define Leadership?
  3. How about Management?
  4. Is one more important than the other?
  5. Do you feel you are a good leader?
Thanks
James