Personal Development;Life Enhancement;Achievement
Posts tagged Consulting
Goals Part 2
Sep 4th
“Establishing goals is all right if you don’t let them deprive you of interesting detours.” ~Doug Larson
The last entry told you that we would be doing dreaming together as part of goal setting. Tis true we will. There is great power in your dreams and I want you to have that power. It is the power to get past the things that have stopped you before. It is the power to get yourself to take the actions that you must in order to change your dreams into your reality. It is the power to put of procrastination and take action right away. Power. Power for good lives in your dreams and that is why we start goal setting with dreaming – we want, we need that energy to get past the obstacles that will absolutely come up.
For today, I just want to ask you a few questions, questions to prime you for the work we will be doing together:
1) Where are you in your life? Are you on track for where you want to be or have you gotten derailed somewhere along the line?
2) If you knew that you could not possibly fail, what would you be doing for a living?
3) When you look at your life right now – are you living your dreams?
4) When you look at your life right now – is this the life you wanted or is this the life someone else wanted for you?
5) Are there any big dreams that you have given up on? Why?
Give those some thought. Write down the answers. If most people set their goals for the year 5 minutes before New Years Eve, while drunk, and never review them again until the next New Years Eve; we are going to follow a path that ensures much better results and more fun. And you might start to get excited now – it’s okay. There is power in goal setting and once you have been thru the process once, your life is forever changed for the better.
Till next time…Jack
“We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility for our future.” ~George Bernard Shaw (1856 – 1950) an Irish playwright – the only person awarded both the Nobel Prize for Literature (1925) and an Oscar (1938) – perhaps best known for his play and movie Pygmalion
Goals Part 1
Sep 3rd
“There is nothing like a dream to create the future.” ~Victor Hugo (1802 – 1885) a French poet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights activist and perhaps the most influential exponent of the Romantic movement in France; perhaps best known for Les Misérables and The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Do you like to dream? Have you been known as a dreamer? Have you ever been told to “stop daydreaming and get your head out of the clouds”? Wonderful! Great! Good for you! Those skills will serve you well and the process of goal creation is going to be easy for you.
If you are highly practical, if you like to always stay “down to earth”, if big dreams seem wrong or grandiose or ridiculous to you, then you might find the process of goal creation, as I teach it, a bit of a stretch. Go ahead – stretch with me. You can always be practical tomorrow.
All, and I mean all, of my coaching around goal creation and goal achievement starts with dreaming. I start with dreaming because it works – when my clients and seminar attendees begin with dreaming, they achieve more, faster, and with more pleasure along the way. I also use dreaming as a critical beginning element of the process of goal setting because my teachers and mentors also believe in the power of dreams. Anthony Robbins, Jim Rohn, Lee Pulos, Brian Tracy – all of these great teachers and many more incorporate dreaming into their work.
I am not sure how long this series of articles will be yet. I have been doing some very ambitious goal setting of my own lately and this process has been much on my mind. I also just ordered 5 new books related to goals, books written since my last indepth study of the topic, and there may be some new ideas to discuss. So, this series will last as long as it needs to. I promise you this though, follow along and you will get to your dreams faster and have more fun along the way.
Till next time…Jack
“Dreams are illustrations… from the book your soul is writing about you.” ~Marsha Norman
(born 1947]) is an American playwright, screenwriter, television writer and novelist.
Libraries Are Your Friends
Jul 7th
“Nutrimentum spiritus (food for the soul).” ~Inscription at The Berlin Royal Library
When was the last time that you went to a library? If it has been awhile treat yourself and go browsing. I went to the library tonight and I had a wonderful time. I have loved libraries since I was a little boy – they have always seemed magical to me. I can remember every library I have ever been inside and I have been inside a great many over the years. One of the first places I go when I visit a new city is the public library. I get a feel for the city just from looking at the layout of the library and the books in the recently returned bins.
When I was in 3rd or perhaps 4th grade, I believed, for a short time, that I could read every book that had ever been written. My local library at that time was fairly small and I had just discovered that I had the gift of very rapid reading. I could easily read a book in those days, a book years above my age grading, in an evening. I read history, math, science; really anything except girl directed romances were of interest to me. (Romance novels still frighten me today. I believe merely being in the presence of these “Bodice Rippers” can cause a dangerous loss in my life force!) So, I made an estimation of how many shelves were in the library. Then I estimated how many books were on each shelf – multiplied to get the total number of books and divided by the number of days I estimated that I would live. This was going to be easy! I only had to read 4 books a week and I would have in my brain the sum of all human knowledge! I was so excited! I remembered that excitement tonight, that excitement of the much younger Jack, as I walked thru the stacks of books at the main Des Moines public library – and I smiled.
I never will read every book that is written. Turns out that many new books are published each and every year – more new books every year than I could read in a lifetime. It also turns out that my early library did not have all of the books that existed at that time. So, with regret, I had to give up the goal of reading every book ever written – the math just did not work out.
Still, I read and that has made all of the difference for me and it can for you as well. Read 3 books on just one subject and you will know more that virtually anyone that you are likely to meet about that topic. Read a dozen books on a subject and you are a multi-state master. Read 30 or more and there will be just a few people in the world that know more about a subject than you. Now I do not believe that knowledge is power – but combine knowledge with focused action – now things get really exciting. And I want you to experience that excitement!
Till next time…Jack
“Libraries: The medicine chest of the soul.” ~Inscription over the door at The Library at Thebes, Greece
A Deadline and a Public Commitment
Jun 2nd
“I may not be there yet, but I’m closer than I was yesterday.” ~Author Unknown
I have been trying to write a book, actually a number of books, for nearly 3 years now. Some are nearly done, others are ready to present to publishers – title, 3 chapters or so, concept and market research; still none of them are done! Time to change that.
The reasons for completing the first book are compelling. The excuses for why the first book is not yet published are seeming trivial now. So here is my commitment: By 5pm, Central Time Zone, Wednesday September 17th, my first book will be for sale – in at least 2 versions – in at least a physical paper version and a downloadable version. That is my commitment to myself, my readers, my family and friends and my clients.
What will the book be about? I haven’t decided which one to bring out first. I will make that decision soon and you can read about it here.
Till next time…Jack
“People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don’t believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can’t find them, make them.” ~G.B. Shaw, Mrs. Warren’s Profession, 1893
More About Using “Dead Time” to Lead the Pack
Mar 24th
“The secret of joy in work is contained in one word – excellence. To know how to do something well is to enjoy it.” ~Pearl Buck
How many books did you read last year in your area of expertise? If you are a male reading this, odds are that you read between zero and one. If you are a woman reading this entry, odds are that you read between one and two books last year directly relating to your field of expertise. So what does this mean? (Other than the fact that women generally know more than men and I don’t think that is any real revelation!)
It means you need to start to read! I don’t remember the exact statistics anymore, but this will be very close: More >
Lead the Pack by Using “Dead Time”
Mar 10th
“Life is like a dog sled team. If you ain’t the lead dog, the scenery never changes.” ~Lewis Grizzard
How would it improve your business and your life if you were considered to be one of absolute “experts” in your field? Let me ask that another way: If you were a known and acknowledged expert in some field, what would be the positive results of achieving that status? I expect you can think of lots of great results. I know I have experienced lots of magic in my life, business and otherwise, from my expertise in coaching and consulting. So what would it be like to be a known and acknowledged expert? There are 3 components to my question and the results that are waiting for you.
1) Becoming and expert 2) being acknowledged as an expert by others 3) being “known” as an expert
Today I am going to talk about becoming that expert. More >