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Entries in improvement (5)

Wednesday
Dec072011

YOU MANIAC!

It’s actually a compliment

Sure, I get accused of being a maniac about growth, about improving, about wanting to make things better! That's a good thing and here’s why: Improvement won't happen until you go into maniac mode.

The status quo has a powerful pull. Change requires massive effort. So when accused of going overboard, of working too hard, winners sometimes feel like they need to dial it back. Wrong! You are on the right track but when the lazy see your pace it scares them. Compared to them, you ARE a maniac. 

That’s why so many people are stuck in life.
They want better things, but they don’t want to be bothered about all that it takes to get them. They don’t want to upset their lives. They don’t want to be bothered. They are dissatisfied but not enough to give up their small comforts. They don’t want to go to the trouble of working up a sweat or making any changes in their lives.

But they live in denial.
They won’t admit it to themselves. They profess to anyone who’ll listen how miserable they are and how desperately they want a better life. They’ll tell you what hard workers they are. They’ll tell you they don’t want something for nothing. But when it comes down to actually doing what it takes to make a change in their life, they fade away, full of excuses. When they see someone working hard they are offended.

The pretenders are ALWAYS annoyed by the maniacs—because they want an easier way. 

It’s crazy for you to slow yourself down to their pace.
Can you show me ANYONE who did anything spectacular in sports, business or anything else who WASN'T a maniac for a period of time? Even some parents are accused about being maniacs about their kids doing homework, jobs around the house, having curfews for teenagers because they want their kids to grow up right. I guess they are just a bunch of unreasonable maniacs too! Losers hover just below the spectacular and manic level... and never make their breakthrough. You can’t be casual about things you care about and expect great results.

If you can't inspire and drive yourself and your team to spectacular activity you'll NEVER have spectacular results!


Feedback: Can you see why being a “maniac” for a period of time is necessary for success?

Tuesday
Nov152011

55% of the Time

Does leadership intimidate you?

Are you afraid of making mistakes? Do you find yourself to holding back and passing on opportunities to take promotions because you are afraid of the pressure? Are you afraid of making the wrong decisions?

Relax.

Its not a perfect world.

Look around. Do you see perfection anywhere?

Here’s the secret…

To Be Good in Management You Only Have to Make the Right Decision 55% of the time.

No one is perfect. You aren’t selected because they think you’ll be perfect. Do the best you can.

Make the best decisions you can and you’ll be fine.

If you make some bad calls you’ll learn and improve.

When you get the chance to step up and lead, do it!

No one is expecting you to be perfect.

Monday
Nov072011

Do the Big Things Well

To be successful you can’t major on the minors.

Life is full of limitations—we’re not going to be here long and we don’t have unlimited resources.

If you’re going to stand out you’ve got to stay focused.

People, and companies who rise to the top do it because there is something they do better than everyone else. In that arena they are the best.

But when success comes people forget that.
They start adding features and adding products. “Look at us now, we not only have that, we also have this, and this, and this!”

They expect super success but often find their profits stop growing and even drop. Why? They’ve over complicated things and lost their focus on their #1 product.

Just because you’re on top now doesn’t mean you’ll be on top in the future. 
If you’re going to stay on top you have to keep improving. What won last year won’t win this year. Unless a company continues to focus on getting better it will slide down the charts.

The same thing works with people.

You establish yourself in life by what you can do. If you have risen to the top it’s because you fought your way there. You had to earn it. And if you are going to stay there you’ve got to keep getting better or the next guy will come up and knock you off.

So you can’t get side tracked. 

Don’t let distractions cause you to lose your main focus. You know what the big things are that make you special. So if you want to continue to improve and move up in life… 

Stay focused on doing your most important things better and better.


How can you simplify and specialize in order to get better at what you NEED to be doing?

Monday
Sep052011

Do Hard Things. Don't Run From Them.

If you stand up to the thing that’s hard for you to face today, you’ll find they will be not quite so hard tomorrow.

In a week they won’t be hard at all, and shortly thereafter will become fairly easy.  That’s how you grow.  

You don’t build big muscles by lifting small weights

You can’t experience growth and the joy of growth and improvement without facing up to “hard things.” Remember just because it’s hard today doesn’t mean it’s going to be hard tomorrow. Like lifting weights in the gym, if you never lift a heavier weight you’ll never get stronger. In fact, just like building muscle, facing up to challenges is the only way to develop mental toughness in sports.

So do the hard things.  

Pretty soon they’ll be easy and people will say, “Look how strong you are. Boy, you must just be naturally strong.” They will be amazed how tough and determined you are. They won’t ever realize the process you had to put yourself through to get there. 

But you will, you’ll have the confidence that comes the achievement, from facing your fears and winning.

Monday
Aug222011

Grow or Die

We live life on a slope. You either push forward or slide back. Things don’t stay the same.

They either get better or worse. There is no such thing as living in neutral.  Life always takes effort. If at any point you stop making the effort, your life will completely unravel. In fact things definitely will get stale and lose their luster if efforts aren’t made to keep them fresh and exciting.

It's worth thinking about because If you aren’t improving you’re declining. Declining is another word for Losing and that is never fun. Any thing can get stale. Any person can get stale, bored. Any relationship can get stale. Any company can get stale. Any country can get stale.

Everything and everybody has pressure.
We are all in the same boat. This is something everything that lives has to confront. It’s why companies come out with new everything. They don’t want to become old news and they know even their product lines will get stale if they don’t come out with new models.

New and improved cars computers, furniture, boats, motorcycles, household appliances, security systems, golf clubs, gold balls, tennis rackets, skiis, clothing, and on and on. Everything that wants to continue to be and doesn’t want to disappear has to become newer and better.

To Live is to Grow

We all have to decide what we want in our lives. There are big benefits for those who focus on ways to keep the key areas of their life fresh, fun and exciting. Those among us who stay fresh and energized by continuing to grow will be the ones squeezing the most fun and fulfillment out of life.

The great news is that this is something that can be a way of life for all, regardless of background, finances, or age. That can be you, that can be me.