January 2008

MARK'S DAILY THOUGHTS: January 2008

2008-01-01 - Honouring Commitments Empowers You
We all have promised something and then haven't delivered. How did that make us feel? Also, we still remember those occurrences and they still make us feel bad every time we do. A good way to keep ourselves feeling good is to set a goal to always keep our commitments. Remember, honouring your commitments will empower you.

2008-01-02 - Values are Put into Action under Pressure
They always say that people show their true colours (values) when they are under pressure. Why is that? Because the pressure drives us to action before we can really think through things well, and then our actions/behaviours are driven more from our core values.

2008-01-03 - Avoid Prescriptions Before Diagnosis
What if you went to your doctor and her or she gave you a prescription for your problem before you even had the chance to explain it. The same thing happens every day to poor performing sales people, as they are always talking about their products and services before even listening to the customer's problems. Avoid prescriptions before diagnosis in "Everything".

2008-01-04 - Meetings are not Bad, but Bad Meetings are
Every person in the corporate world hates meetings (at least it seems that way). Meetings are not the problem, bad meetings are. Most of the time the leaders of meetings have not done the right preparation or have made others aware of the contribution they need to bring to the desired outcomes of the meetings. Remember, do the preparation and define the outcomes, and you will lead much more successful meetings.

2008-01-05 - Live by your Word
Credibility with yourself is always measured by how well you live by your word. Do what you say you will do and you'll not only maintain credibility with yourself, but also drive a high credibility with others. Remember, not living by your word always has a higher impact on yourself, than it does on others.

2008-01-06 - The Magic of Discipline
The very best magic in the world is the magic of discipline. When discipline is attached to whatever your want, you begin to take action and attract to you everything you need to get it. Everyone can get the magic. Just add discipline to what you want most today.

2008-01-07 - Quality of Thinking Drives Quality of Action
Many people go through life trying to escape too much thinking. It is as if they are a spectator in the game of life. They get back in the game when they invest time in thinking, and this is when they become aware of the possibilities they have. By investing quality time in their possibilities, they can change their lives with quality actions.

2008-01-08 - First Rate Leaders Hire First Rate People
One of the best ways to evaluate leaders is to see whom they hire into their teams. Very often weak leaders will not want to hire someone better than them and who will challenge them into their team. Strong leaders always look for people who are better than they are. Remember, first rate leaders hire first rate people.

2008-01-09 - Be Results Driven and People Focused
Business and life is all about balance. One of the best phrases for business balance is to be results driven and people focused. Every success a business achieves (the results) is only achieved by the great work of their people. Keep this phrase in your mind each day, and it will help you create even greater success for your business.

2008-01-10 - Take it Down to the Habits Level
All success starts with our habits. We can develop fantastic strategies and plans for what we want to accomplish. However, unless we take it down to the habits level and do something different on a daily basis, not even the best strategies and plans can create the success we desire. Take it down to the habits level today and do something different.

2008-01-11 - Imagine Yourself Living It
The people who build a successful life for themselves imagine living it first. The action of imaging themselves living it creates passion inside them that they now need it, and this builds the "why" behind having it. Build your "why" by imaging the successful life your want, and you will build the passion and drive to go get it.

2008-01-12 - Take Time to Build Great Relationships
When you look at your life, you often look at two key factors. 1) What you have achieved. 2) What relationships you have built. Many people focus on the achievements and not enough on the relationships. The greatest enjoyment in our lives come from the relationships we have built. Build great relationships and you build a great life.

2008-01-13 - Look Inward before Looking Outward
Many people are always looking for others to change before ever looking at themselves. Successful people are just the opposite. They know that others change only after they change first, and that their behaviours will change the behaviours of those they interact with. Remember, to see the change in others, change yourself first.

2008-01-14 - Take Action Today and Create the Tomorrow
There are many people who have great ideas and big ambitions, but seem to be always delaying action. They have forgot that we have to take action now (today and every day) in order to create the tomorrow we want. Tomorrow is always a better day when we take action today.

2008-01-15 - Your Way and Their Way
As a leader, getting your people to own the key outcomes for success is one of your top goals. If there are multiple ways to the same outcome, don't worry about them following your way, as it is more important that it is their way. If there is an equal chance for success, always support their way. Their way leads to more ownership from your people.

2008-01-16 - Lead People as They "Can Be"
Leaders get the most from their people when they lead them as they "can be" versus as they are. They always have in their focus their people's potential and look for all different ways for their people to use it. This helps their people grow faster, and if the people are growing faster, so is the organisation.

2008-01-17 - Earning the Trust of Others
Relationships and teamwork are some of the key drivers of success and lasting success for organisations. You could say that trust is what builds relationships, and that all of us should have "Earning the Trust of Others" as a key outcome for our daily lives. This could be a powerful motivator of the right behaviours for creating great teamwork.

2008-01-18 - Emotion can be the Most Powerful Driver
Too much emotion in the wrong way can be a problem. However, emotion can be one of our most powerful drivers. When we have passion and feel the emotion behind what we are doing, the once impossible now seems possible.

2008-01-19 - The Most Important Ability is Responsibility
To get ahead in life means to take on greater and greater amounts of responsibility. You could say that your most important ability is responsibility. Be the person who never runs away from it. Look for it, embrace it, and you will personally grow faster, both in your business and private life. Remember, responsibility is really your ability to respond to whatever situations your find yourself in.

2008-01-20 - Life Works When You Work on You First
There are so many people in life who spend too much time trying to change others, when they should be investing time working on themselves first. The best way to change your own life and those around you is to work on yourself first. Your world is a reflection of your thinking and behaviours, so the best place to start is always with yourself. Life works when you work on you first.

2008-01-21 - Change Occurs at an Individual Level
Leaders always talk about "changing" the organisation. However, change is really at an individual level first. Great leaders know that they need to concentrate on changing their key people first (the role models) as they will be important to help the others to change as well. Remember, change occurs at an individual level.

2008-01-22 - Luck Favours those Who Prepare
Luck is something that many people think happens as magic, and that there is nothing we can do to create it. However, it is very often the preparation we do that enables us to see opportunities we didn't see before. By taking action on those opportunities, we put ourselves in situations where the luck can happen. Luck favours those who prepare.

2008-01-23 - Connect with Others at their Speed
You can sometimes see this issue in very intelligent people. They are so quick in their thinking, that they often skip details when talking with others, and are always assuming that others are thinking at the same speed as they are. Basically, they are not making the connection. Remember to connect with others at their speed.

2008-01-24 - Be a Champion of your Boss's Vision
One of the best ways to become more successful working in large organisations is to become a champion of your boss's vision. Help your boss implement his or her vision, and you will find yourself given more challenging and rewarding work to help make it happen. Those people who understand their boss's goals and priorities will always move ahead of others who do not.

2008-01-25 - Help Others Build their Networks
All successful people understand that their success comes from the relationships they have built (their network). Also, they understand that their network grows faster by helping others grow their networks as well. Helping others build relationships (their networks) will encourage them to do the same for you. Remember, it is always your relationships that power your success.

2008-01-26 - Others Never Knowing the Difference
No matter how you feel, it is always better to show to the world a positive and happy attitude. This type of attitude attracts the help of others, while a negative one has people wanting to avoid you. Which one helps you get more accomplished? A great goal to have is for others to never know the difference on whether you are having a good or a bad day.

2008-01-27 - Adapt or Be Left Behind
In today's world, everything is changing at a faster and faster pace. How we interact with the world determines our success, and this drives us to adapt our plans and actions to meet the different opportunities and challenges we face. You could say that we all need to learn to adapt or we will be left behind.

2008-01-28 - Write a Reputation Goal
Our reputation can be an asset or a liability. To make it an asset and a big asset for yourself, why not create a goal for your reputation. Define it clearly as to what you want people to think about you, and also define the behaviours and habits that will create it. Then, it is all about putting those behaviours and habits into your daily life.

2008-01-29 - You Listen with your Emotions
Look at every successful speaker and you will see someone who speaks with emotions and triggers emotions in others. We listen with our emotions and one of the best ways to engage others' emotions is through telling stories. That's why 2 hours in a movie theatre goes so fast, and 2 hours in a business meeting doesn't.

2008-01-30 - Real Winners Share the Glory
Real winners in life are always sharing the rewards and benefits of their success with others. They realise that no one achieves great success on their own, and they are quick to acknowledge the people who contributed to their success. Real winners share the glory.

2008-01-31 - Your Attitude is Simply a Choice
Too many people say, "I will be happy when...", and are always expecting others to make them happy. Your happiness and your attitude are really not dependent on others, but simply a choice to make. You shape your world around you based on your attitude, and the attitude you enter the world in each day is your choice.

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