“A good deed brightens…”

Posted on October 8, 2015 by Barry

“A good deed brightens a dark world.”

—Author Unknown

Image from fridaylight.org

Imagine you are standing in a pitch-black room in which you cannot see your hand in front of your face.

A person enters the room with a lit candle. You can now see your hand, and of course, the smiling face of your visitor. Soon a second, third, and fourth individual join you, each bringing their own candle to further illuminate your room.

Many times, when we look at our lives, the lives of others, and the world in general, things can appear dark and foreboding. We might not even see a light at the end of the tunnel.

EXERCISE:

Where and with whom can you offer your own good deeds to brighten up the world of those around you? Please note how often this process brightens your own world as well!
Imagine the brightness and illumination if everyone focused on doing this more, each and every day.

“Our fingerprints don’t fade from…”

Posted on October 5, 2015 by Barry

“Our fingerprints don’t fade from the lives we’ve touched.”

—Will Fetters, American Screenwriter

Image from lynnemosher.com

I’ve been fortunate over the years to build a coaching practice in which I often see clients in person in my office. Sessions are held at a special round table covered with glass. By the end of the day, the glass is often covered with fingerprints, along with a few crumbs if we happen to meet over lunch.

Perhaps the most profound reason the profession of coaching has grown so significantly over the years is the stickiness and sustainability attributed to these special, collaborative relationships.

EXERCISE:

Where can you make an enduring and lasting impact in the lives of others? Who are the people who have made an enduring and lasting impact on your life? How can you continue to positively build on these “life fingerprints” and only bring out the “glass cleaner” to remove the smudges that sometimes come your way?

“Ignorance killed the cat…”

Posted on October 2, 2015 by Barry

“Ignorance killed the cat; curiosity was framed!”

—C.J. Cherryh, Speculative Fiction Writer

Image from Flickr by jinterwas

Two highly correlated factors to success are life-long learning and, of course, hard work.

Examine the levels of success of people who have dropped out of school, or never cracked a book after graduating from college or university. Formal education is not the only course to pursue success. There is a wide array of true stories in which people who lacked a formal education became extremely successful. These individuals possessed a curious nature, and a desire to learn and grow in support of their passion or purpose.

EXERCISE:

Where could greater curiosity and expanding your learning efforts bring you and those around you a more satisfying and rewarding life?

“If the world is cold, make it…”

Posted on September 30, 2015 by Barry

“If the world is cold, make it your business to build fires.”

—Horace Traubel, 20th Century American Essayist

Image from www.offthegridnews.com

The life blood of any business is satisfied customers who are attracted to you as well as your products or services.

The goal of business development or outreach efforts is to convert the unaware or “cold” prospect to a hot prospect, and to eventually consummate a win-win agreement. In our frenetic, over-communicative world, this is often easier said than done.

One strategy I found that will definitely warm things up for you is to create a discovery process that intentionally seeks to establish the fit and value of a future agreement.

EXERCISE:

Create an assessment that specifically identifies the best candidates for your product or service. Create another assessment that helps people determine the value and areas of impact of your product or service.

Feel free to examine the Assessment Section of my website to see how I help prospects determine the fit and value of working together. Consider adapting these resources to support your own efforts.

“An arrow can only be shot…”

Posted on September 10, 2015 by Barry

“An arrow can only be shot by pulling it backwards.”

—Author Unknown

Image from Flickr by SteFou!

How familiar are you with Newton’s Laws of Motion? I’ll spare you the physics lesson, and point directly to his Third Law, which states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

This means that for every force, there is another force that is equal in size, but opposite in direction, which adds to the impact of the full quote for today’s thought:

“An arrow can only be shot by pulling it backwards. So when life is dragging you back with difficulties, it means that it’s going to launch you into something great. So just focus, and keep aiming.”

EXERCISE:

How will you embrace your personal and professional difficulties, knowing you have the capacity to launch your life in the direction of your goals and objectives?

“Don’t let anyone rent…”

Posted on September 9, 2015 by Barry

“Don’t let anyone rent a space in your head, unless they’re a good tenant.”

—Author Unknown

image from runningisfunny.com

Self-talk is a powerful thing.

It can inspire us to achieve greatness or stop us in our tracks and affect all aspects of our lives.

Where and when did you first notice your own internal monologues? Who in your past or present life is responsible for this programming?

EXERCISE:

What negative voices have taken residence in your head? How can you begin the eviction process, put up the “for rent” sign, and encourage a more supportive and empowering tenant?

“Integrate what you believe in every…”

Posted on September 8, 2015 by Barry

“Integrate what you believe in every single area of your life. Take your heart to work and ask the most and best of everybody else, too.”

—Meryl Streep, Three-time American Academy Award-Winning Actor

Image from yahoo.com

Meryl Streep is one of the most recognized and award-winning actors of the last few decades.

Recently, my wife Wendy and I saw “Ricki and the Flash,” a film in which Streep plays an aging female rock star with family challenges.

Her performance demonstrates her ability to bring her heart and her best to every role she plays. She truly walks the talk of her quote.

EXERCISE:

How well do you integrate your deeply held beliefs into all areas of your life?

How can you bring your whole-hearted self to work, and support those around you to pursue their personal best?

“The problem with doing nothing….”

Posted on September 4, 2015 by Barry

“The problem with doing nothing is not knowing when you are finished.”

—Nelson DeMille, American author of thriller novels

Image from NickyMenarkayaonline.com

We all need a break from time to time to recharge, refresh, and simply stop the frenetic pace most of us keep.

A potential challenge to this usually well-deserved respite is to know, as today’s quote states, when we are finished.

EXERCISE:

Instead of an open-ended period of “do nothing,” please consider actually scheduling it in your calendar. When the time period is up, you can determine if it fits your recharging needs or not.

Consider learning about Dan Sullivan’s Strategic Coach Program, and his concept of Focus Days, Buffer Days, and Free Days.

“Fall in love with the problem…”

Posted on September 3, 2015 by Barry

“Fall in love with the problem, not the solution.”

—Kaaren Hanson, VP of Design /Innovations/ Intuit

QC #853

Through the course of our lives, we have all developed strategies for success which we apply to the daily challenges we face in our professional and personal worlds.

As long as these default solutions work reasonably well, we rarely seek alternative solutions that may actually work far better.

When we embrace, and even fall in love with, the problems we face, we generate a higher ability for innovation and creativity, discovering possible solutions that were previously unrecognized.

EXERCISE:

How might falling in love with your problems help you release some of the “sacred cow solutions” you have used over the years? What new and potentially more successful solutions would be possible?

“Your mind is a garden…”

Posted on September 2, 2015 by Barry

“Your mind is a garden, your thoughts are the seeds, you can grow flowers, or you can grow weeds.”

—Author Unknown

Image from Flickr by My Photo Journeys

At this time of year, the northern hemisphere is harvesting many crops. Due to advances in farming technology, our ability to grow food throughout the year has greatly expanded.

Today’s quote suggests that our minds are always very fertile. We can all do a better job selecting and planting only the most optimal and positive thoughts to help us harvest a healthy and abundant life.

EXERCISE:

Examine how much time you commit daily to your own growth and development. Be specific in minutes and hours. Examine, too, how much time you spend in the weeds of negative or toxic thinking, in your personal and professional worlds.

What actions can and will you take today to harvest far more flowers and considerably less weeds in your world?