What Does Commitment Mean to You?
Have you ever made a commitment to yourself or someone and for whatever reason, didn’t follow through? There are numerous definitions for the word “commitment.” The most basic definition is that of an “act of voluntarily taking on and fulfilling obligations.” This is actually further specified as a “personal” commitment, as opposed to a professional or organizational commitment. The voluntary nature of personal commitment is what makes it so personal. However, this does not mean that a commitment has to relate only to personal interests, such as human relationships or core beliefs. Any objective can be approached with a personal commitment, a voluntary taking on of all obligations. A commitment can be given to any number of projects and causes, including an organization, a team, a faith group, or to another person.
Many successful people in business and life have commented that commitment is a very important factor in individual success. This is usually because the individual is the one that must spearhead his or her own cause for a period of time, at least until others can join in the cause. In order for any venture to be successful, action must first be taken, and commitment is what incites people to action. Commitment involves not only pledging one’s self to a purpose, but also practicing this system of belief on a regular basis. Defining commitment as persistence alone would be inaccurate; it is persistence with a purpose or goal, and built upon a foundation of logic that is closely linked with a person (or group’s) core beliefs.
Some of the most successful businesspersons in modern times, as well and throughout history, are people that have been described as “committed” to their career or cause. They are usually not people of exceptional genius, nor have they built an empire based on dumb luck. They are individuals that have held firmly to a set of commitments and seen these commitments through.
How passionate and committed are you to making a project work, making your career successful, raising your children, staying fit and healthy, etc.?
Setting ‘Smart’ Goals
If you are looking for a system of goal setting that is easy to remember then consider the word “SMART.” This acronym stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timed. Your goals should be specific, measurable, and at the same time relevant to your vision and measurable in physical terms. Some people think their goals have to be ‘realistic.’ Realistic is somewhat relative. I believe that setting a goal that may seem a bit out of reach or a challenge works to motivate me more. If I don’t achieve this goal I still feel better that it was a stretch over what I would have set it I set a realistic goal. You need to set your goals the way it motivates you the most. Lastly, by attaching timing to your performance-oriented goals, you can induce yourself to take action.
Remember that you can and should modify your goals as time passes. As you gain valuable life experience, you may find that some goals are just too easy. If this is the case then you may want to rewrite those goals to be more personally challenging. On the contrary, you may find that some goals are beyond your capacity, at least within a short period of time. You may decide that it’s best to rework some of your goals into a more manageable solution. This is acceptable. I call this course correcting at any time. What’s important is that you are continuing to pursue your objective and prospering at your own pace. This is far more effective than setting very unrealistic goals and then falling by the wayside because of discouragement. As long as you have a plan, then you are heading in the right direction.
You must write your plan with a view to taking action. Goal setting means nothing unless you actually follow through with your plans to finish each step. Do not sabotage your future by creating goals that are not in-synch with your abilities or time frame. Start slowly and work your way towards the top of the mountain. See the difference that goal setting makes in your life and as the quality of your life starts to improve. Begin today.
11 Guidelines for Increasing the Power of Focus
If asked, what is the one defining quality that sets great leaders apart from their wannabe counterparts, it would have to be their ability to maintain focus on the important issues.
Sure, once behind closed doors, even the most successful leaders probably have moments of indecision, procrastination and uncertainty, but even the sharpest minds need to take a break occasionally.
Here are 11 Guidelines for Staying Focused
The power of focus lies in your ability to distinguish the urgent from the important; and concentrate your energy on the important.
Here are some guidelines to help re-direct your focus and prioritize getting the important things done first.
- Write down the important tasks you have set yourself for the day. These are the results-driven projects that require your complete focus.
Prioritize those tasks according to their importance, as they relate to goal achievement, and then plan a strategy for completing the most important task first.
Visualize the entire process and how it will look once it’s completed. Keep that image at the front of your mind.
- Clear your desk of everything except the important project you are working on. If necessary, make a pile of paperwork on the floor. You can always pick it up once your important task is completed.
- Block out a time in your daily schedule to attend to the urgent matters. Most of us find we are at out lowest ebb early in the afternoon, so this is an ideal time to take care of anything “urgent”.
- Don’t answer the phone. Imagine you are in a meeting and can’t be interrupted.
- Turn off your email client and shut down the automatic email notification system.
- Turn off your cell phone or shift the ring tone to “silent”.
- Close down any programs on your computer that could cause you to become distracted. Remember to turn off RSS feeds.
- Close the door to your office. If you work in an open plan space where there is a lot of noise around you, consider buying a pair of ear plugs.
- Work attentively. If you find yourself getting distracted, re-visualize the project in your head and the action steps necessary to complete it.
10. Take regular breaks. Very few of us can remain focused for long periods of time without losing the plot, so take a 5 to 10 minute break every hour.
If you sit at a desk, get up, stretch your legs and take a few deep breaths, do some sit-ups, or push-ups or take a walk around the inside of the office. If you have been working on a computer, re-train your eyes to focus on middle to long distance objects. This helps avoid eye strain.
11. When you have successfully completed one of your important projects, give yourself an imaginary pat on the back for a job well done!
Staying focused requires effort and determination, but like any project we want to achieve, perfect practice makes perfect!
What is an ‘expert’ really?
Malcolm Gladwell, in his book Outliers, defines an expert as someone who has devoted a minimum of 10,000 hours to becoming skilled in a single narrow field, such as; tax accounting, estate planning, money management, or financial planning, etc. Gladwell’s definition is as good as any and makes sense to me the way he lays it out in his book.
How many hours have you devoted to your skill, to your career, to what you really enjoy doing? When someone tries to tell you how to do your ‘job’ do you have the confidence to share with that that you are the expert in this field and they need to take your advice and do whatever it is you are recommending (said nicely and with confidence)?
When you are looking for an expert in a certain field, would it be important to you to know how much time they have invested in their field to be that expert that you are considering hiring? When someone devotes 10,000 hours of their life to perfecting their skills, I would suggest that they are probably an ‘expert.’
What do you think about this?
This is What it Takes!
I was reading an email by Richard Weylman today and thought you would get value from his message also. He wrote:
“Recently I spotted a young lady going door to door in my small town passing out her resume to every business. She marched in, dressed for success and asked to see the manager. Then, with dignity and maturity beyond her years (she is a junior in our local high school) she presented her resume and her value statement to every manager. When I approached her about why she was going door to door, her answer was simple. “I need a job and I have to get in front of those who hire!” Wow!
Two days later a local farmer pulled into our office parking lot selling fruits and vegetables. I asked him why he wasn’t just parked on a corner selling his products. His answer was simple “that’s what everybody else does. Me, I make it happen. I’m not waiting until it happens.” Another Wow!
In both cases, these individuals chose to break out, get out and reach their prospects face to face. The lesson here is simple; to grow your business you have to reach, see and meet more people. In this market, people need to know you and trust you. This can only happen if you delegate running the business to a limited number of hours each week and spend at least two days a week out of the office meeting, greeting and becoming known and trusted.
The school girl was going door to door on Saturday because she is in school until 4:00pm M-F. The farmer has to grow it to sell it. Yet in both cases they saw what it takes to be successful in this market. The same applies to each of us in this business. Or to put it another way, as Milton Berle said, “If opportunity isn’t knocking, build a door.””
WOW is right! This is what it takes to be successful. What are you doing today, tomorrow, next week, next month that puts you in the highest probability position to reach your next level of success?
Great resource if you ever give presentations of any kind
“If you need to give presentations of any kind, you might be interested in the Earprompter, a way to give a talk of any length word for word, without memorizing or notes, and with very little prep time. Actors have been using it to deliver their lines perfectly for many years…now it’s in the business world as well.
Please check out www.earprompter.com (there are short, explanatory videos and lots of info), and let me know if you think this would be a fit with your group. There is also a comprehensive overview video at www.vimeo.com/3239016”
For more information on this very innovative resource, contact Brian Collins at 800-776-5376 or brian@ovation.tv.
Despite the economy, successful people continue to invest in themselves
Yet another article in the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, August 25 stating that individual and corporate clients say that one-on-one coaching is critical for career success, even more so during tough economic times. Most business people understand the importance of continuous investment in themselves and their organizations; however, many stop investing when times are tough. Business owners and entrepreneurs who want to survive and strive to be successful in tough times and not let the economy be their excuse continue to make investments in the resources that will help put them in the highest probability position to be successful now and position them for even greater successes when the economy gets better.
Most of understand that we may have to work a little harder and maybe a lot more smart to continue to make progress in our business, when times are tough. It is way too easy to get distracted from what we know we need to do, give ourselves excuses that we think lets us off the hook, and procrastinate from doing the ‘heavy lifting, and just go along with what the majority is doing or NOT DOING. Do you want to be a sheep or do you want to be the one who is ahead of the pack and enjoying professional and personal success?
You have access to many different types of coaching and different types of coaches. Pick the best method and person or team of people to help you weather the current economic times and come out ahead. Those who take advantage of resources now will be much further ahead of those that don’t. That is just the simple reality of the situation.
To help you review a few options, go to: http://www.accountabilitycoach.com/bw/coaching.php. Stop getting ready to get ready and pick a method of coaching that you think will have the biggest impact on you achieving your goals so you can get busy and experience success for yourself and your firm.
