Upstream Battle

“Chinook and sockeye salmon from central Idaho…travel over 900 miles (1,400 km) and climb nearly 7,000 feet (2,100 m) from the Pacific ocean as they return to spawn.” Wikipedia

The above photo is as close as any to capturing where I feel like I am right now. Over the last several years, I have spent time preparing myself for a journey back to my first love: inspiring people to greater heights through speaking and training. Just as the salmon know when it is time to return, I decided it was time to go.

When I embarked on this journey, I began to map out my path to reach the goal. The first stretch of the journey was fairly easy to navigate. The farther I travel, the stronger the current becomes. Although I am making progress, it is slowing down as I push against the force flowing toward the ocean.

Now I am finding myself fighting a strong current along with a wall that I need to jump. Not only is the current swift, there is a bear at the top of the wall creating a sense of fear for all those pushing forward. The odds of my making it seem to be stacking up against me.

This is the very place that I am right now. The goal is much farther up the river. Once I reach that place, I will have established the beginning of my legacy and can then relax as I follow the stream back to the ocean and enjoy the rewards of having battled the upstream journey.

The biggest temptation at this point in the journey is to see the bear, turn back, and return empty to the ocean. The story Napoleon Hill shares, “Three Feet From Gold,” rings in my subconscious mind and reminds me to keep pushing forward. (If you are not familiar with this story, Paul Hutchings upload an audio recording of this section of “Think and Grow Rich.” Start it at the 8:00 minute mark for the story.) Intellectually, I know that I am only 3 feet away from the gold. Emotionally, I feel like it is miles and miles away.

The hardest part of this process is to transfer what I know in my head to my heart and inner being to calm the inner turmoil that resides within me.  Therein lies the struggle of an entrepreneur.  I share my thoughts to bear witness to the struggles one faces when we pursue our dreams.  This is only one of many obstacles that are sure to come. Those who persevere and press on will be the ones who LIVE their dreams.

Illusion or Reality?

“Not all people are so constituted that they wish to know the truth about all matters vitally affecting life. One of the great surprises the author of this course has met with, in connection with his research activities, is that so few people are willing to hear the truth when it shows up their own weaknesses.

We prefer illusions to realities!”

Napoleon Hill, Laws of Success

Click on the picture to see the illusion.

A few years ago, I applied for a sales position with a company who was expanding in our area. They asked me a question during the interview that went something like this: “On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate yourself as a salesperson?” They were a little taken back by my answer as I replied that I was an 8 or 9. My answer prompted the question, “Why an 8 or 9 and not a 10?” They were looking for someone who had the illusion that they were a 10. Who can really say they have no room for improvement?

Too often, we hide behind the illusions we create to hide what we really know to be true. We grow comfortable  hiding behind a mask and not dealing with reality. To acknowledge our weaknesses induces fear, a fear that is based on an inherent idea that the only the strong survive. So we create these facades to keep us from being devoured by those who appear to be stronger.

Only when we choose to dismantle the illusions do we really free ourselves to succeed. Once we know our weaknesses, we can then create plans to strengthen those areas. While I believe you should play to your strengths, you also need to take steps to improve upon your weaknesses. This may be done in a variety of ways including accountability, delegation, coaching, creating a well-rounded team, to name a few.

Be willing to listen and acknowledge the truth when it shows up. Stop hiding behind the illusions and create a reality of success.

Unofficially Going Back to School

Yesterday, I spent time doing what sparks my inner creative genius to flourish: mowing the grass. I don’t know why it is one of my most creative times, it just is. And yesterday was no exception. I decided I am unofficially going back to school.

Now, I am not going the route of a traditional education at a college or university, I am creating my own eight week sessions on topics I want to learn more about. I recognize the need to learn more and I have the opportunity to chisel out a full load of classes for myself.

Here is the list of classes I am creating for myself (not taking all of these at once):

• Marketing
• Branding
• Sales
• Leadership
• Interpersonal Relationships
• Economics
• Social Media for the Small Business Owner
• Personal Development
• Wine/Beer Making
• Marine Biology
• Public Speaking
• Writing
• Business/Life Coaching
• Small Group Facilitation

My initial format for my class time will consist of 30 minutes of study, 10 minutes of applying what I learn to my own business or life, and 10 minutes of sharing what I learned either by writing or video blogging (study, apply, and share).  This will be done in 8 week segments with 2 weeks break between sessions.

I may develop an interactive session with these classes where three or four other people all meet together online to share knowledge, ideas, and thoughts. If you have an interest in group learning or want to follow along this learning adventure, sign up to receive updates.

 

Questions

The ability to ask GREAT questions is a learned skill that every leader needs to develop. A person who asks well-crafted questions will receive feedback that will be so much more beneficial than a series of weak questions.

Besides being able to know how to ask questions, you need to know how to listen to the responses. You are listening for what is said, what is not said, and how the answer was given. Did the person understand the question? Did they respond with the information you were seeking? Listening is as important if not more important than the questions themselves.

People tend to read into the questions asked and respond according to their perception of what is being asked. Recently, a friend posted a question on Facebook where she was wanting some good feedback. It was interesting to see a few people miss the key word in the question and respond with an answer not fitting to the question. We have a tendency to respond without understanding the initial question.

Everyone can benefit from learning how to ask GREAT questions. Whether you are in sales trying to find the buyer’s motive or you are trying to develop a relationship with someone, great questions will bring about more success.

 

 

 

Study the Not So Average

Reblogged from Gen Y Girl:

Let me start off by saying that I’m a huge fan of these Ted Talks.

I saw this one today and thought I’d share.

Shawn Achor, CEO of Good Think, Inc., researches and teaches about positive psychology.

Positive psychology… It seems to be a topic of great interest lately.

There are thousands of books teaching people things like how to be happy… how to make the best out of really crappy situations… that your attitude determines your success.

Read more… 444 more words

Kayla Cruz shares some amazing insights as a recent college graduate and her experience in the workplace. Her drive to become the best she can be is an inspiration. A great post to share with my readers.

What is Your Specialty?

“Successful men, in all callings, never stop acquiring specialized knowledge related to their major purpose, business, or profession.”

Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich

Whenever you watch a baseball game or football game, one thing you will notice: No one player plays all the positions on the team. You won’t find the catcher pitching or playing shortstop. You will also not find, in football, the kicker playing center. Players learn how to play specific positions and become the best they can be in that position. You may have a few players that can play a couple of different positions, but generally speaking most learn to play one position really well.

This concept holds true in the business world as well. Those who learn how to specialize will capitalize on their efforts faster and with more success than those who try to learn how to do everything. When you are able to focus on your specialty, you can bring others along to take care of things that are not.

One of the things that my company has started doing already is delegating out the tasks that others specialize. For example, I could have found out how to submit all our necessary paperwork for forming our corporation and saved a small amount of money. Rather than spend hours trying to make sure I was doing everything right, I hired an attorney to do that work who specializes in business startups. We will continue to do this with other areas as the company grows.

Once you have your specialty defined, you can then pursue excellence in that specific area. Then as your reputation builds as a resource or an expert in that arena, you can begin to expand and broaden your reach as it fits your core purpose.

Identify the area in which you will continue to acquire specialized knowledge, and put into place a plan to increase your knowledge. You will begin to shine as you let your specialty rise to the top.

What’s on the Label?

As I was preparing my breakfast this morning, it dawned on me how many food items we now buy with labels of what is NOT in the product.

“No High Fructose Corn Syrup,” “Unsalted butter,” “Reduced Fat milk,” “Low Sodium bacon”…what does that say about the foods we eat? Now before you go and think I am going to go on a rant about all the bad stuff we eat, just hear me out on this.

We have so far removed ourselves from raw, natural foods that we have to advertise what we are not putting into the products to convince people it is a healthier choice. We do that in our lives as well, don’t we? We put on masks to hide our true genuine self and rarely let people see the real, natural you. Leaders have a tendency to do that far too often.

Great leaders have to learn how to be genuine, to be themselves. While some leaders like to BOAST about what they have (degrees, advanced training, etc., nothing wrong with having those things) or what they have accomplished (record breaking sales, high income, company growth, etc., good track records are good things), there are others who like to boast about their own weaknesses as if that makes them more relatable. What people really want are genuine leaders who don’t have put labels on themselves to convince people of their leadership.

“In contrast to the very I-centric style of comparison leaders, we were struck by how the good-to-great leaders didn’t talk about themselves…It wasn’t just a false modesty. Those who worked with or wrote about the good-to-great leaders continually used words like quiet, humble, modest, reserved, shy, gracious, mild-mannered, self-effacing, understated, did not believe his own clippings; and so forth.”

Jim Collins, Good to Great

Jim describe great leaders as having a compelling modesty and unwavering resolve. Great leaders are recognized for who they are naturally not with labels describing what is in them or not. As you continue to grow in your leadership, learn how to be yourself. Lead in such a way as to draw the attention away from yourself to the greater cause which you have chosen to lead. Then you won’t need any labels describing what makes you more like a true leader.