May 2006

MARK'S DAILY THOUGHTS: May 2006

2006-05-01 - Focus on What you do Best
Sometimes people look to improve themselves and only focus on their weaknesses. However, it is what you do best that is most important to your success. Spend the time to develop further your best strengths, and improve your weaknesses to the level where they do not impact you in any negative way. Your strengths will drive your success, and just make sure your weaknesses don't slow you down.

2006-05-02 - You are what you Settled for
Your life is the way it is now based on all the things you settled for over the years. Basically, you arrived to where you are now based on the choices you have made. For a better life, you need to make better choices, and that means never settling for something if you know it's not helping you to become all you can be. What have you settled for recently?

2006-05-03 - Money - only makes you more of what you already are
Many people always want more money, and think it will change them. They think more money will make them happier and change them for the better. However, money only makes them more of what they already are. If people are not happy with the way they are, it's time to change right now. By changing they will act in a way that will attract more opportunities and the money that comes from acting on those opportunities.

2006-05-04 - The "Will" to win creates the "Way" to win
It is often the "Will" that creates the "Way". People with the "Will" to win do whatever is necessary to reach the goals they define. That "Will" is contagious and they also attract the help of others who want to help them with the "Way". Build your "Will" to win and that will create the "Way" to win.

2006-05-05 - Two Key Skills for Success
There has been a great deal of studies on skills that companies look for in their executive searches. The two at the top of the skills list are: Verbal Communication Skills and Problem Solving Abilities. Spend the time to develop these two skills and you will be successful.

2006-05-06 - Get to the Point
Many times people are not successful at influencing others because they do not get to the point fast enough. Influencing others has more to do with your preparation. If you prepare what you want to say and how, as well as possible questions/responses, you will have a much higher success in influencing others. Do your preparation and "Get to the Point" faster.

2006-05-07 - What do I need to Learn?
If we have ambitious goals, it will always push ourselves to grow and become more that we are today. A good question to ask ourselves each week is "what do I need to learn?", then take some action to learn it. The limiting factor for your future success is the speed at which your grow yourself.

2006-05-08 - How much of a "Team" is your Management Team
One of the biggest problems in most companies is the lack of "teamwork" in the management teams. The leaders are always talking about teamwork to their individual teams, but somehow it often doesn't apply to the team they belong to. In management teams, it is always important to create opportunities for discussion and debate, as this is the only way to create a "real team", and at any level.

2006-05-09 - Become the person you would want to be around
I think we would all act a little differently if we all acted like the person we would want to be around. How often do we put ourselves in a negative mood because our day didn't go the way we had planned? Would we want to be around ourselves on that day? Probably not! Become the person you would want to be around (all the time).

2006-05-10 - What gets tracked gets done
There's an old saying that what gets measured gets done. It's also true that what gets tracked gets done, especially in the follow-up of commitments made to you by others. A great list to keep is a follow-up list, and keep track of what others have committed to do (for you) and by when. When you track & follow-up other people's commitments to you, they take action.

2006-05-11 - Seek the Small Improvement (each day)
Many times people want to get big improvements right away. However, it is the small improvements we make on a consistent basis that will make us successful. Focus on making improvement in some area every single day (however small) and you will be amazed at the person you will become and what you will achieve.

2006-05-12 - The Choices You Make, Make You
When you really think about it, the choices you make in life really determine the life you will have. Most people don't really spend the time to think through those choices well enough before making them. Remember, the better your thinking, the better your choices, and the better the life you will create.

2006-05-13 - Think What & Why, then How & When
It is extremely important to have a clear direction "the what" and to establish "why" it is so important to you. "The why" generates enthusiasm and power, and a clear "what" & "why" is 80% of being successful as it provides you a very strong focus. Then you can move on to the "how" & "when". You get creative on the "how" to make it happen, and the "when" helps you focus your time by setting target dates. So, remember What & Why first, then How & When.

2006-05-14 - Fix it Now, Fix it Fast, Fix it Right
Whenever a problem arises, think of the following phrase: (Fix if Now, Fix it Fast, Fix it Right). The majority of the time it is best to address a problem as fast as you can, and your most important problems only get bigger with time. Therefore, remember the key words: Now, Fast & Right.

2006-05-15 - Remember, People See Everything
How would each of us go through our daily life if a camera were on us 24 hours a day? We would probably be much more focused than we are today. Well, that doesn't happen, but it doesn't mean that people do not take notice of the way you act. People see and take notice of more than you think. A good phrase to remember is "People See Everything".

2006-05-16 - Ideas & Action - Two Main Ingredients for Success
If you think about it, two of the main ingredients to be successful are "Ideas" and "Action". It is the quality of your ideas that drives the quality in your actions. Keep this in mind and do a little more up front thinking to make sure that you are generating the best ideas you can. Then, take action on them right away.

2006-05-17 - Don't be Afraid to be Different
Especially when you are young, you want to fit in with the crowd. However, if you stay with the crowd, you are destined to be just "average", because that's where the crowd is. Be brave and be different, as you need to be different in order to stand out and be successful. As they say, doing different things will produce different results. Don't be afraid to be different.

2006-05-18 - Think Back to a Successful Time
A powerful visualising exercise used by athletes is to think back in time and replay a time when they were really successful. Bringing back the memories of past successes brings confidence to them today. You can use these same visualising techniques that the athletes do. Think back to a successful time and watch how it brings you more confidence right now, in whatever you are doing.

2006-05-19 - A Clear Focus can keep away Distractions
In today's world we have so many options on how we use our time, and a clear focus on what we want and need to do is so very powerful. This power comes from the ability to eliminate the distractions that are not within our focus. In essence, empowering us to say "No" and keep our focus on what is most important in order to reach our goals.

2006-05-20 - There are no Poor Groups, just Poor Leaders
There is a really good saying: "There are no poor groups, just poor leaders". Often it doesn't matter how strong a team a leader has, a great leader will always find a way to get the most out of the team by focusing on the strengths of everyone and working around their weaknesses. When reviewing a team's performance, start with the leader first.

2006-05-21 - People Don't Fail, They Just Quit
Failure is often a matter of quitting. We try a few ways that don't work out the way we want and then just quit. Many successful people know that they will need to adapt their approach in order to reach their goals. They have determined that they will not quit until they reach their goals, and keep at it until they find the right way there.

2006-05-22 - Don't Let People Talk You Out of It
When we try new things in life we will always get people telling us it can't be done. Too often we let people talk us out of something because our picture of what we want is not strong enough in our minds. Also, too many people try to pull us down in order to lift them up. Be strong in what you want and don't let others talk you out of it.

2006-05-23 - What You Don't Need to Know
One of the keys to being more focused and productive is to eliminate distractions, and one of the biggest distractions is all the information that is available to us today. You can't know everything, so it is important to focus on information that will help you reach your goals. Decide what you need to know and what you don't need to know.

2006-05-24 - Did I Make my Best Effort?
A good question to ask yourself at the end of each week is "Did I make my best effort this week?" This helps you to see where you could have done better and then think of opportunities you have in the following week to do something different and improve. A good thought is to constantly evaluate yourself and try to improve something each and every week.

2006-05-25 - Where is the Authority and Accountability?
In large companies, there are many matrix organisations today and most have the big problem with authority and accountability all over the place. The more you can focus authority and accountability in the same leader and group, the more change you can drive and in a much more consistent way.

2006-05-26 - Most Fatigue is related to our Emotions
Most of the fatigue in our lives is related to our emotions and not something physical. Our physical capabilities are well beyond whatever we normally use, which means our emotions have a tremendous power over our feeling of fatigue. Don't let your emotions trick you into a feeling of fatigue. Do some activity anyway, and you will act your way out of that feeling of fatigue.

2006-05-27 - Don't Replay your Limitations
There is one thing, which if we would eliminate it, could be a powerful impact on our lives. That is eliminating the replaying of our limitations. We constantly say to ourselves, "I can't do that" / "I'm not good at that", etc, and are really defeated before we even try. Also, we are so clever as to bring up past experiences in our minds that prove we can't do. Eliminate replaying your limitations and you will be amazed at what you can do.

2006-05-28 - To "Be" Tomorrow, "Do" Today
The future you want doesn't magically appear; you have to do something today (and the day after, etc) in order to become the person you want to be in the future. You have to have a vision and goals for the future, but the attention has to be on today and what action(s) you are taking "Now" towards that vision and goals.

2006-05-29 - Your Words Create your Moods
People don't often realise this, but your words create your moods. How you describe a situation can make you either more excited or more negative about it. If it's doing this to you, just think of what it's doing to people who are listening to you. Watch the words you use.

2006-05-30 - Include the Feeling of Incompetence
If you think about it, when you try anything new, you always have a feeling of incompetence at first until you master it. However, many people try to avoid the feeling of incompetence and don't try anything new. You always need to be trying new things in order to stretch yourself and move forward in life. Therefore, include the feeling of incompetence. It's normal.

2006-05-31 - Are you behind on your promises?
One of the biggest impacts on our self-esteem is keeping promises. When we keep our promises we feel great, but when we miss keeping our promises, we are disappointed in ourselves. And, the biggest disappointment comes from not keeping promises to ourselves. Be careful on the promises you make (both to yourself and others), and strive to keep all of them.

April 2006 « » June 2006

RSS Feed For Mark's Daily Thought