It’s easy to look at things and see the negatives. The challenge is to look at things and see the positives.
There are positives all around us, we just have to be willing to see them.
If you are determined to find the negatives…you will.
If you are determined to find the positives…you will.
Which do you choose to find?
Have a great day!
Lawrence
Do you fit in?
Are you part of the “in crowd”?
Is your boss regularly pleased with your performance?
Do your peers see you as “one of them”?
If so, are you doing anything that makes you special?
If you fit in then you must not be outstanding.
If your boss is regularly pleased it most likely means you aren’t trying to raise the bar (and as a result occasionally stepping outside the lines).
Be willing to take chances. Be willing to stand out. Be willing to not fit in. You might surprise yourself and others and actually do something special.
Have a great day!
Lawrence
Will you allow reality to alter your perception?
The other night I checked into a hotel in Richmond VA. I booked the room online and the pictures of the hotel looked wonderful. They took some old row houses and turned them into one hotel.
When I arrived it was too early to check in so I waited in the lounge area. This area was furnished with items from the 1950′s and it looked like nothing had been reupholstered since being bought new.
When it was time to check in they informed me the elevator was broken so I would have to take the stairs to the 4th floor. I was fine with this but was a bit surprised when they handed me a key to my room (I can’t remember the last time I stayed somewhere which still used keys instead of a card).
I went to my room and the first thing I noticed is the TV was 15 inches and the reception was somewhat fuzzy.
Throughout this process I was thinking “should I check out and go somewhere nicer?”
I have to admit I was exhausted when I checked into the hotel so I took a short nap before dinner and after asking the person at the front desk for a recommendation I went to dinner and upon returning I started looking around a bit further.
On each floor there were numerous sitting areas (indoors as well as outdoors). Many of these included comfortable rocking chairs and small tables.
The room I was in was absolutely huge. It was one of the largest non suite rooms I have ever stayed in. The beds were extremely comfortable. The towels were large and lush.
There was an outdoor courtyard which, in nicer weather, would have been wonderful to sit in and relax.
The people at the front desk were always smiling and friendly (and they had offered to have someone take everyones luggage to their rooms for them and to bring it down for checkout).
They offered a complimentary pass to the local YMCA for anyone who wanted to work out and had a complimentary shuttle to get around the area if a place was too far to walk.
Basically, once I truly opened my eyes and stopped looking at the negatives I noticed all of the positives and my perception changed to closer match the reality
Initially I considered checking out and finding a better place to stay. Eventually, I realized if I come back to this area I would definitely want to stay there again
Be willing to change your perception based on the reality
Have a great day!
Lawrence
Are there a few people whose opinion you respect so much that they influence your opinions in certain matters?
Do you look to these people for recommendations and suggestions?
If so, you are like many people. These people you look to are “influencers”.
If you look to influencers for recommendations don’t you think others do the same?
When marketing your product or service, if you can get to these influencers you can get through to many others as well. Ignore these influencers and it’s hard to be successful
Have a great day!
Lawrence
Local vs National is an interesting topic to look at because it’s easy to assume how things work locally is also how they work nationally and how things work nationally is how things work locally.
The other day I was down in South Carolina visiting with friends and they were hosting a meet and greet for one of the presidential candidates. The advance team for the candidate was insisting on a certain size room for the event based on the areas demographics, the number of registered voters etc. They were looking for a room that would hold 75-100. The local hosts tried explaining that they were expecting much more than that based on their previous events in the area etc. The national people insisted they knew more so it was put in a room that seats 100. This was a bit of a problem when over 750 people showed up. The problem was the national people were basing things on their experience and not based on the experience for that locale
In the same way, assuming that what works locally will also work nationally can cause the same type of situation
Realize that what works locally doesn’t always work nationally and what works nationally doesn’t always work locally
Have a great day
Lawrence
We set goals
We set timelines
We have objectives
Then when we least expect it, something happens.
If we aren’t willing to be flexible this could be a lost opportunity. Be flexible, consider changing your plans and see what might develop
There is a big difference between being flexible and being unprepared. One will result in failure and the other opportunities for great success
Have a great day!
Lawrence
When people look for partners it’s typically because they are looking for additional resources (money, infrastructure etc). It’s important to realize that some times a partner is valuable for other reasons.
A partner who can introduce you to the right people or can help with sales or can help with in other ways can be just as valuable, or more valuable than those who can provide money or infrastructure.
Look for the total package and not just the obvious and you might find that partnerships can be more valuable than originally anticipated
Just something to think about.
Have a great day!
Lawrence
A few days ago I went to the Andy Warhol Museum up in Pittsburgh. While I like art his type of art isn’t exactly my style but one thing was very apparent. Warhol didn’t try to do something slightly better than others. Instead, he would take a completely different approach and be the best at his approach. I guess it’s easy to be the best if you create the style.
The next day I received an email looking for help with a new type of social networking site. It may or may not have a slightly different twist than what what is currently out there but it’s certainly not different enough to make people leave what they are currently using.
If you want to do something, either be MUCH BETTER than the status quo or do something MUCH DIFFERENT.
If you choose the much different maybe you will get your 15 minutes of fame!
Have a great day!
Lawrence
There is so much out there “in the cloud” that it’s important to ask ourselves “who has access?”
People use Google Docs or Microsoft’s Office 360 to store documents and files. They use Carbonite to back up files. They use Gmail for their email. They use BasecampHQ for project management. They use Amazon Cloud Drive to store photo’s, video’s and documents.
Most of these services have pretty specific explanations for how they protect your information from outside intruders. The question is, are you protected from their employees?
As an example, if you place an order online with an ecommerce site and see it’s using a secure certificate you can usually feel safe that your information is being sent safely. The question is, once it’s received, who has access to it? Can their employees see the information? Can the bank employees?
Another example is with smart phones. So many have their GPS enabled and many programs use these (and use them for good reasons). However, are you giving the people who own these apps access to more information than you intended? Are they able to track where you are? (you might be surprised how much information you are giving to others without knowing it).
The purpose of this post isn’t to encourage people to be paranoid but rather to be safe.
Just something to think about.
Have a great day!
Lawrence
Here is a guest post by Tony Demeo (www.tonydemeo.com) on goal setting
The beginning of the New Year is always a great opportunity for sitting down and setting goals for the year. As a Head Football Coach I met with every player on the team for 30 to 45 minutes to discuss their goals. This took basically the month of January to complete but it was time well invested. Most young men (and women) have never been taught the importance of setting goals or how to set them.
Not only were these meetings valuable as a teaching tool but they also gave me tremendous insight into the players’ expectations. These goal meetings were a great help in establishing relationships.
The importance of goals has been well documented over the years. Greatness and achievement don’t happen by accident. Cal Ripken didn’t accidently set the record for the most consecutive games. A simple rule is “you get what you set”.
Some other important tips are:
Set goals in areas of your life – I use a 5 point star for five major areas – Spiritual, Family, Professional, Health and Community. Set goals in each of those five areas.
Write all your goals down. Putting your goals on paper is a sign of commitment.
Never sell yourself short. If you don’t believe in yourself; you’ll never reach your potential. Think big. Ralph Waldo Emerson said “The heroic can’t be common nor can the common be heroic”. Stretch yourself. It’s better to shoot for greatness and come up short than to shoot for mediocrity and succeed.
Never let an “expert” discourage you. I doubt if too many experts thought Spud Webb at five foot seven would win the NBA slam dunk contest. Few experts thought the US Hockey Team would beat The Soviets in the 1980 Winter Olympics.
Take an organized logical approach to your goal-setting. Follow up your goal setting process with action. Setting goals is important but they must be followed up with immediate action.
The system we developed was a series of Six Questions that not only clearly defined the goals but also tested the attainability of the goals. At the end of the six question process your confidence in achieving the goals will increase and will be well founded. The following is a brief overview of the Six Questions.
The first question is “What”. What is your goal? What is it that you want to accomplish? Make sure when you chose your goal it is very specific and something you can measure. For example make the goal to increase your bench press 25 pounds instead of just getting stronger.
The second question is “Who”. Whose goal is it? Is it your goal? Is it your Dad’s goal for you or is it your boss’s goal? Unless it is YOUR goal, you will never take ownership of it. Without owning the goal, you probably won’t achieve it.
The third question is “Why”. Why is it important to you to achieve this goal? The reason you want to achieve a goal is the soul of the goal. The “Why” of the goal is the propelling force behind the goal.
The fourth question is “How”. How do you plan on achieving this goal? What’s the plan? This question gives you goal credibility. Anyone can say they want to be an All American but those that know HOW they plan on accomplishing it have a much better chance of actually achieving it. Also breaking a big goal down into bite size pieces makes it seem more likely to be attained. The plan gives you confidence that your goal can happen. The more detailed the plan, the more credibility it has. The more credibility, the more confidence you have.
The fifth question is “When”. When will this goal be achieved? Giving your goal a deadline is providing a sense of urgency to your plan. Deadlines force you into action. Action separates goal setting from goal getting. Anyone can put a plan together but all plans are worthless without action. Setting deadlines and benchmarks keeps your feet to the fire.
The last question is “Price”. Are you willing to pay the price to achieve this goal? Is this goal that important to you that you are willing to pay the price to achieve it? A simple formula is: the greater the goal; the higher the price. If you are not willing to pay the price then you must start the process over again and choose a goal that you are willing to commit to. The last question is really a reality check. If you are willing to pay the price then proceed with massive action.
This is a quick synopsis of the Six Questions of Goal Setting. It’s not just about goal setting; it’s a process of goal getting. If you are interested in a more detailed and expansive version of this system; I have a limited amount of DVDs available that explains this process in detail.
To order the DVD’s please go to http://tonydemeo.com/featured-dvd/the-six-questions-of-goal-setting/
Have a great day!
Lawrence
If there is one thing Lawrence Fine is most passionate about it's teaching. From sharing his knowledge about soccer as a soccer coach, he now shares his expertise in the field of human resources and the Internet. (More...)