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Challenges

Intentional Living Begins Here

So many people wish life was easier, with less challenges and obstacles but without challenges, life becomes stagnant and we stop growing. Challenges help us uncover who we are and it allows us to become better people. challenges_1

Let’s examine a very simple 4-step method to overcoming challenges.

First, state the problem clearly. When we are faced with challenges, we tend to avoid the issue and run the other way burying our heads in the sand hoping it goes away. Or we may say – ok, there is an obstacle, instead of heading right to it and plowing through, I am going to look for another path and even though that is not the way I want to go – it looks easier… less headache… but rarely does that work out. When we avoid or go out of our way, we cause more headache in the end. It takes more of our time, it takes more of our energy and we don’t get the end result we are looking for. So take this time to understand what the challenge is. Ask yourself what is the question, what is asked of me, what is the main goal? Write this down on paper.

Second, identify what you have at your disposal – what resources are available to you to work through this challenge? List all of these resources out. These should include things such as tangible assets – money, computer, books, etc. And then what skills you have, what are your strengths to work through this? Don’t forget others – what access do you have to others that can help?

Third, design the strategy to overcome this challenge. Utilize all your assets to create a plan of action. You may find this plan will need to be tweaked as you execute and that is ok. Keep at it.

Lastly, execute the strategy with effort and determination. Do your very best with all you have to overcome your challenge.

If you find that you still cannot overcome a challenge, then re-evaluate. If your strategy just won’t work because it isn’t viable or effective then change it. If your strategy doesn’t work because you didn’t execute it well enough, be persistent and tweak your efforts, giving it more.

Practice this method on small challenges and see how easy it is to overcome. Then try it on the big rocks!

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SA Leadership Podcast Episode #042

The Law of Pain

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Good management of bad experiences leads to growth.

Every problem introduces a person to himself – John McDonnell

Cheryl McGuiness, wife of co-pilot Tom McGuiness, the 1st plane to hit the World Trade Center 9/11/01 has lived through difficult days. In her book, Beauty Beyond The Ashes, she writes, “As unfair, unreasonable, and impossible as it seems, we still have work to do after a tragedy occurs. We still have roles to fill. We still have a responsibility to family and friends. The stuff of live may pause for a while, but it doesn’t stop. Fair or not, that is reality.”

1.Everyone has bad experiences – Life is FILLED with ups and downs. No one gets to pass on bad experiences. Here are some great quotes: “I try to take life one day at a time, but lately several days have attacked me at once.” “ Dennis Wholey television host stated that “Expecting the world to treat you fairly just because you are a nice person is a little like expecting a bull to not charge you because you are a vegetarian!”

2.No one likes bad experiences – Academy Award winner Dustin Hoffman stated that before his fame he was a waiter, Gene Hackman worked for a moving company, and Robert Duvall worked at the post office. If you manage days of struggle wisely, there will be a day when you can talk about your bad experiences with a smile.

3.Very few people make bad experiences positive experiences – Do not become like the bumper sticker mantra which read; When the going gets tough, it is time to take a nap.”

There are many things that can cause us pain. Consider some of these issues:

The Pain Of…..

  • Inexperience
  • Incompetence
  • Disappointment
  • Conflict
  • Change
  • Bad Health
  • Hard Decisions
  • Financial Loss
  • Relationship LossesSo how do you turn your pain into gain? Frank Hughes once stated that experience is not necessarily the best teacher but it sure serves as the best excuse for not trying to do the same silly thing again.Consider the following….
    • Choose a positive life stance – a “life stance” is the sum of your attitudes, assumptions, and expectations that people hold about themselves and others. Develop a better set of guiding presumptions on life.
    • Embrace and develop creativity – Author Donald Walsh stated that life begins at the end of your comfort zone. Don’t whine about the circumstance, get creative about the solutions. Dig in and finish strong!
    • Embrace the value of bad experiences – Charles Kettering head of research at GM once stated that you will never stub your toe standing still! Stated another way, where there is no struggle there is no progress!
    • Make good changes after learning from bad experiences – Writer Charles Baldwin suggested that not everything can be changed. But nothing can be changed until it is faced. Authors John Kotter and Dan Cohen states that changing behavior is less a matter of giving people analysis to influence their thoughts than helping them to see the truth to influence their feelings.
    • Take responsibility for your life – In Winning Life’s toughest Battles author Julius Segal suggests that people who overcome bad experiences avoid the label of VICTIM and take responsibility for moving forward.

LINKS

Shepherds Advantage Leadership Podcast is now on iTunes – SUBSCRIBE

FREE GIFT – “The Art of Balancing Candor With Care” – Click on the icon at the bottom of the page

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Music: “Gratitude Mood” by David Arivett. You can learn more about his music by clicking on his name. THANKS DAVID!

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ATTITUDE

Every Human Has an Attitude

Attitude is the one thing all human beings have complete control of and yet many unknowingly choose a negative attitude. If we understood the power of our own attitude in our lives, most of us would change it immediately. How many times have you been told to change your attitude? That is a common order from most parents and teachers!

Attitude is created by your thoughts, feelings and actions. Your mind controls feelings and decides whether these feelings will be positive or negative through your thoughts. Your body then follows these thoughts through actions and behaviors. It sounds simplistic because it is.

Through our thoughts, we create an attitude. This attitude is expressed based on how we internalize ideas. Our mind and body move into a new vibration of conscious awareness known as feelings. These feelings are then displayed through actions and behaviors that produce the results in our lives.

Attitude [Thoughts + Feelings + Actions] = Results

Imagine feeding our minds with positive thoughts and flow through the process. We will end with positive results. Now imagine feeding our minds with negative thoughts and flow through the process. Makes sense, doesn’t it?

By changing our thoughts, we can change our attitude, which will ultimately change our results. Attitude is the creative cycle that allows us to feel a certain way and then take the necessary action to a specific result.

Start with the end in mind and make the decision that today is the day to change your attitude!

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Behavior

Intentional Living Begins Here

Behavior defined can be a physical thing one does such as a morning routine and it can be non-physical such as replaying negative thoughts all day long.   A few behaviors are instinctual and built in while the rest are learned through meeting needs. What this means is that our behaviors are motivated by our needs and therefore we can be manipulated as well as manipulate to have our needs met. student-behavior-impact1

So when we have negative behaviors and we want to change them, we find it isn’t always so easy because these learned behaviors that we exhibit are actually rather complex.

There are two types of motivation – the motivation to approach something and the motivation to avoid something. When we desire something, we are motivated to approach it therefore receiving positive reinforcement or feedback. When we avoid something, we are motivated to move away from it or we will receive negative reinforcement or feedback. This is pretty simple. We understand that when we eat something sweet, most of us have a pleasant experience and when we eat something sour, our faces pucker and we try to avoid that experience again.

But let’s look at those things we approach or avoid because the thing doesn’t create that behavior, we do. Some people desire the adrenaline rush of jumping out of an airplane. It is exhilarating – it is something they repeat again and again as it has a positive affect on them and they desire that and are motivated to seek that experience. Some people avoid even the thought of getting on an airplane due to their learned fears that it will absolutely crash and they will die no matter what statisticians say – forget purposefully jumping out of a perfectly good airplane! Did the airplane create these behaviors? No! We learned them. And each of us react differently to different things, experiences, tastes, smells, thoughts, etc. All because of our own personal thoughts and behaviors.

So how do you change your behaviors? Your thoughts? Let’s say you want to become a public speaker but you are petrified of speaking in front of people. How can you overcome this fear, build confidence, perform and knock it out of the park? You have to change your behavior so that you are motivated to approach public speaking effortlessly without turning into a sweaty mess.

Practice. Anything you try for the first time will be clumsy and awkward, maybe even difficult. By practicing your speech – over and over again until it is so engrained in you and flows off your tongue as if it is just another story you are telling a friend, you build your confidence to speak to several friends or a small group… until you are ready to speak to a large audience. Practice.

Shaping. Practice your speech and ask your audience (family members, friends, mentor, coach) for feedback. Try giving it several different ways. Break down the speech into bits and mix it up. All the while correcting your approach and delivery until you shape your presentation and performance.

Chaining. Very good and effective speeches, keynote talks, sales pitches… are complex. They are made up of many components within the speech to get you to the end result you desire – sell a product or service, teach a thought or program, build rapport with your audience, create new clients, whatever your end result is, your speech has to be built on a frame and chaining is how you piece it together so there is a natural flow, a rhythm that mesmerizes the audience. Think about a really good comedian who gets up on stage and tells little stories for the whole set and the last story wraps up and circles back to the first story – bringing the evening to a close so naturally and you give a standing ovation because you were mesmerized by how good he was – he practiced, shaped each story or joke, chained them all together and brought it to a close.

By using these techniques, you can change an old behavior that you don’t want for a new one that you do want. Whatever you want to change, practice your new desired behavior, shape the new behavior by approaching it in different ways and ask for feedback all the while tweaking it, chain all the components of the new skills you are now mastering together and now you have successfully changed your behavior.

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SA Leadership Podcast Episode #041

The Law of Design

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If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you will fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they may have planned for you? NOT MUCH!

Year-end Review

We are approaching the end of another year. 2015 will be in the rear-view mirror within weeks of of this podcast. This is the time of year that we should begin to evaluate our performance past and our goals future. Taking the time to reflect is vital for all successful leaders. Flip the pages of your calendar to see if your goals actually showed up in time slots on the calendar.

Consider these four life lessons.

1. Life really is simple – keeping it that way is difficult. I believe that our digital lifestyle has complicated our life instead of simplifying it. Do not allow the distractions of our digital age to crowd your living and your goals. Consider the following in developing a life strategy; Can I personalize if where it transform my soul. Can I repeat this activity quickly without extreme effort. Will this transform other people of various ethnicities.

2. Designing your life is more important that designing your career. Reese Witherspoon stated that people worry too much about managing their careers but rarely manage their life. She states that I want to make my life – not my job!

3. Life is not a dress rehearsal – Life is not about a dress rehearsal for a grand performance someday. Today is the show – there are no do-over’s. Do not live with a mentality of the “some-day maybe’s!” Today matters!

4. Multiply everything by two – We tend to over estimate the end result and under estimate the cost. Double the price tag to stay grounded in reality. This truth is important to comprehend that growing yourself will take twice as long as you anticipate. Double the time expectation to grow.

Consider some insights regarding systems that can assist us in achieving extraordinary results.

Effective systems help us to see the BIG PICTURE of life

Effective growth systems make use of priorities

Effective systems are measurable

Effective systems include application

Effective systems employ organization

Effective systems promote consistency

“If you go to work on your goals, your goals will go to work on you. If you go to work on your plan, your plans will go to work on you. Whatever good things we build end up building us!” – Jim Rohn

LINKS

Shepherds Advantage Leadership Podcast is now on iTunes – SUBSCRIBE

FREE GIFT – “The Art of Balancing Candor With Care” – Click on the icon at the bottom of the page

Executive Coaching Premier Service – Private message me for details on this customizable service

Music: “Gratitude Mood” by David Arivett. You can learn more about his music by clicking on his name. THANKS DAVID!

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80/20 Rule

Vilfredo Pareto

Start TodayThe 80/20 rule sounds like a mathematical formula and in some ways it is but don’t fret, this isn’t a lesson on statistics. The rule came from an Italian economist, Vilfredo Pareto, who stated that 80% of the Italian income was earned by 20% of the Italian population. 20140418-095204

What this means is that 80% of your outcomes come from 20% of your inputs. To put this another way, 20% of your activities equate to 80% of your happiness. Instead of focusing on income, we will focus on your overall well being or happiness factor.

To prove this theory, look at the distribution of wealth and lately with the shrinking of the middle class, this is even more apparent that a small portion of the population controls the majority of the economy. Look at business, the top earners are a small percentage of companies and earn the largest portion of income. And if you look at your own habits, you most likely spend most of your income on few things like your mortgage, car payment, food and you probably spend most of your time with a few people each day.

So how can you use the 80/20 rule to maximize your outputs? Let’s look at John Maxwell. He talks about the fact that he is only good at a few things. Therefore, he doesn’t waste his time with those things he cannot do or does not want to do. By focusing on what you are good at – those few things; and not waste time on those things you are not good at, you maximize your efficient self and are able to improve upon and increase your skillset on what you are good at and what you love to do.

Malcolm Gladwell speaks of how to become an expert; the common thread is spending 10,000 hours perfecting one’s craft. If you spread yourself across the board, become a Jack of all trades, master of none, than your efficiency rate decreases and no longer will the 80/20 rule work in your favor.

Take a moment and consider what you love and what you are really good at and then list out those things that cause you to waste time and decrease your efficient self. If you are able, hire someone to do those tasks that fall on that list. Share duties with your children, spouse, roommate, significant other, co-worker, team members etc. Trade your time and skillset for theirs. You will find that focusing on those 20% tasks, the 80% yield will be worthwhile.

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SA Leadership Podcast Episode #040

The Law of Environment

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The first steps toward success is taken when you refuse to be a captive of the environment you first find yourself in – Mark Caine

There simply comes a time in all of our lives that our environment needs to change in order for growth to go to the next level. Lasting change depends on your choices. You may be familiar with the equation that says “Growth = Change. Realize that it is possible to change without growing, but it is impossible to grow without changing.

You see whether you are a success or failure in life has little to do with your circumstances; it has much more to do with your choices – Nido Qubein. What choices do you need to make so that you are in the midst of conducive surroundings that allow for growth. Consider the following choices that will place you into a growing environment.

1.Assess your current circumstance – Consider whether you are looking forward to what you are doing or looking back to what you have done. If the future looks dull and boring or confining you may need to start looking for a change of environment.

2.Change yourself and your environment – When you sense that a change of environment is going to occur the first consideration is to change yourself. John Maxwell suggests that if you change yourself but do not change your environment – growth will be slow and difficult. If you change your environment but not yourself growth will be slow and less difficult. But ultimately if your change yourself and your environment growth will occur faster and will be more successful.

3.Change who you spend time with – According to social psychologist Dr. McClelland states that the people that you associate with habitually are called your reference group. These people will determine as much as 95% of your success or failure in life. King Solomon of Israel stated that if we walk with wise we become wise, for a companion of of fools suffers harm. Speaker Charles Jones states that you are right now who you going to be five years from now with the exception of two things: the people you associate with and the books you read. Jim Rohm states that we become the average of the five people that we hang with the most.

4.Challenge yourself in your new environment – One thing is certain, when you get into a new growth environment you can spread your wings and start flying as never before. When you get into a new environment as these questions: What are the strengths of those around me in this new environment? What are these people learning that I need to learn right now? What are they reading that I have not read?

5.Focus on the Moment – Harvey Firestone Jr. stated that today is when everything that’s going to happen from now on begins.” Do not worry about the past, live fully in the present moment. Mother Teresa would say that yesterday if over, tomorrow has not arrived therefore live fully in this moment. Shirley Temple Black learned to live fully in the present from her mother-n-law. The end result should be to not worry about your past, do not dwell on your future because you cannot control it, focus on this moment and participate fully.

6.Move forward despite criticism – Growth always comes from taking action and taking action almost always brings criticism. Whatever path you choose there will always be someone to tell you that you made a mistake. Remember that someone’s opinion of you does not need to become your reality. When you take charge of your life you do not need to gain permission. When you do that you give them veto power. Do not misunderstand my line of thinking. When making big decisions seek wise council from trusted people, but at the end of the matter you male the choice.

LINKS

Shepherds Advantage Leadership Podcast is now on iTunes – SUBSCRIBE

FREE GIFT – “The Art of Balancing Candor With Care” – Click on the icon at the bottom of the page

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Music: “Gratitude Mood” by David Arivett. You can learn more about his music by clicking on his name. THANKS DAVID!

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Another Blog On Leadership

Leadership Is Influence

It has been said that leadership is influence, nothing more and nothing less. Lord Montgomery implies this when he wrote that leadership is the capacity and will to rally men and women to a common purpose, and the character, which inspires confidence.

If you and I were to write a list of qualities or characteristics usually found among natural born leaders, our list might look something like this: Leadership-Qualities

  • Persistence
  • Enthusiasm
  • Competitiveness
  • Practicality
  • Knowledge
  • Discipline
  • Integrity
  • Aggressiveness
  • Flexibility

So here is the million-dollar question: “Are these qualities necessary in spiritual leaders? Before you answer too quickly, I would refer you to some biblical illustrations that would have done quite poorly on a natural leadership test. The truth of the matter is that God chooses people that we would have looked over.

Consider the withdrawn, fearful, and doubting Moses (Exodus 3:10-4:14). Consider the uncultured, negative, ill prepared, unwanted dogmatic, clumsy fig-picker Amos! (Amos 7:10-17). Do not overlook the impulsive, shortsighted, boastful Apostle Peter who suffered from foot-in-mouth disease often.

Stop and consider a little phrase in the Old Testament that reads, “The eyes of the Lord move to and fro…” God is searching for men and women whose hearts are open to His touch. Beyond that fact I do not read about a list of characteristics. Consider the 400 indebted and unorganized malcontents that surrounded David in the cave of Adullam (1 Samuel 22:1-2). Many of these men would become the elite fighting soldiers for David.

If this fact were not true, let me assure you that if adults had written off a strong willed, aggressive hothead teenager – you would not be reading this blog post.

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SA Leadership Podcast Episode #039

The Law of Consistency

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Motivation gets you going – discipline keeps you growing!

If you want to be more consistent and disciplined in your performance you must become more consistent and disciplined in your growth. Consider these thoughts; consistency_message

  • Do you have any idea what you need to improve? Journalist and author George Lorimer stated that you have to get every morning with determination if you’re going to go to bed with satisfaction. In short you must develop yourself to be successful
  • It is not good enough to just have purpose, you must be consistent in your progress. You can have ambition and yet not move forward in your life.
  • Said another way, your future is dependent upon your personal growth! Your daily growth assures that your future if filled with great possibilities.
  • E. M. Gray states that successful people have a habit of doing the things that failures don’t like to do. The truth of the matter is that successful people do not like doing certain things but , their dislike is subordinated to the strength of their purpose.
  • Do you know how you are supposed to improve? Here are some suggestions:
    • Match you motivation to your personality
    • Start with the simple things
    • Learn patience
    • Value the process and enjoy the journey
  • Do you know why you want to keep improving? The how and why will only take you so far. It is the WHY that will keep you motivated long after the rush of enthusiasm wears off. Vince Lombardi stated it best; “Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit!”
  • The more reasons that you give yourself to grow the more likely you are to follow through.
  • In his book The Compound Effect author Darren Hardy writes that the Compound Effect is the principle of reaping huge rewards from a series of small smart choices.
  • Author Hardy goes on to write that the rewards are massive the steps in the moment do not feel significant.
  • Do you know when you are supposed to improve? The most obvious answer is right this very moment. A wise professor once stated that a life lived for tomorrow will always be a day away from being realized. You will never change your life until you change something that you do daily.
  • You need to develop habits and disciplines that act as bridges between goals and accomplishments. Cross that bridge enough times and you will see new habits being formed.
  • Ask yourself the question; “What are you doing daily that needs to be changed. Remember a bad habit never goes away by itself. It is an undo-it-yourself project.What are you willing to change today in order to change what you will be doing tomorrow!

LINKS

Shepherds Advantage Leadership Podcast is now on iTunes – SUBSCRIBE

FREE GIFT – “The Art of Balancing Candor With Care” – Click on the icon at the bottom of the page

Executive Coaching Premier Service – Private message me for details on this customizable service

Music: “Gratitude Mood” by David Arivett. You can learn more about his music by clicking on his name. THANKS DAVID!

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Old Ideas Are Undervalued

What can Pruitt-Igoe Teach Us

What can Pruitt-Igoe Teach Us

 

St. Louis’s Pruitt-Igoe housing project is arguably the most infamous public housing project ever built in the United States. A product of the postwar federal public-housing program, this mammoth high-rise development was completed in 1956. pruitt-igoe-implosion.png

Only a few years later, disrepair, vandalism, and crime plagued Pruitt-Igoe. The project’s recreational galleries and skip-stop elevators, once heralded as architectural innovations, had become nuisances and danger zones. Large numbers of vacancies indicated that even poor people preferred to live anywhere but Pruitt-Igoe. In 1972, after spending more than $5 million in vain to cure the problems at Pruitt-Igoe, the St. Louis Housing Authority, in a highly publicized event, demolished three of the high-rise buildings. A year later, in concert with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, it declared Pruitt-Igoe unsalvageable and razed the remaining buildings.

On paper Pruitt-Igoe was a testament to modern engineering. In practice, the housing project was a disaster. The sprawling 33 building, 57-acre layout of Pruitt-Igoe ignored the traditional knowledge about how cities grow and develop. Nearly every successful city on our planet was built organically and unpredictably. Building popped up as needed. City Blocks expanded gradually.

There is a reason we tend to undervalue old ideas

At first glance we see just an idea that has been around for a long time. We incorrectly assume that familiar ideas provide average results. “Everyone does it this way, so it can’t be that great.”

What we fail to understand is that fundamentals are not merely a collection of good ideas. The fundamentals are a collection of good ideas that outlasted thousands of bad ideas.

FOR EXAMPLE…

  • FITNESS – How many exercise fads have we seen over the years. In our quest for immortality and fitness we have been willing to do just about anything. Yet weight lifting and daily walking has outlasted all fades.
  • ENTREPENEURSHIP – The truth of business is that making more sells calls can be the difference between success and failure CEO of Starfighter Patrick McKenzie says that patient execution of doing what we know to do is what breaks barriers.
  • READING – How many books will fail even though they have good ideas today? Their truths may in fact be proven to be wrong tomorrow. However there are a handful of books which we return to over and over. These are the books we should spend time with.

The power of inherited knowledge

Across the street from Pruitt-Igoe was a more traditional housing development called Carr Square Village. This was a smaller complex with more traditional designs. It was built 12 years prior to Pruitt Igoe and yet boasted of lower crime and vacancy rates all the while being in the same neighborhood of Pruitt-Igoe.

James Clear writes that perhaps what is needed in modern world is to do the fundamentals better and more consistently than everyone else. Everybody already knows that is very different from Everybody already does that.

Credits:

Harvard Sociology Department

St Louis News

James Clear