April 2008

MARK'S DAILY THOUGHTS: April 2008

2008-04-01 - Big Talkers are sometimes Little Doers
Have you ever noticed that there are a number of people who are big talkers, but little doers? This is not really the path to success. Successful people are big doers and let their actions do the talking. A great "Example" is always more powerful than any words could ever be.

2008-04-02 - Did Today Really Matter?
There's a great question to ask yourself at the end of each and every day. Did today really matter? Have you grown today or have you made a difference in another person's life today? Therefore, why not set a goal to ask yourself this question at the end of each day and to always like your answer.

2008-04-03 - Behaviours Matching the Circumstances
One of the biggest reasons for leaders to not gain the trust from their people is that their behaviours are often not matching the circumstances. This is when they over-react to something one time, and then have no reaction at all on something that is much more important and maybe even a bigger issue. Remember, your behaviours need to match the circumstances.

2008-04-04 - It's About Getting It Out of their Heads
Most businesses don't really use all of the brainpower that they have in their people. How often have you been in meetings when only a few people did all the talking? Did they have all the ideas in the room? Probably not! Therefore, find ways to get everyone engaged and use the full brainpower in the room.

2008-04-05 - The Invisible Means of Support
Everyone has an invisible means of support. Some make great use of it, while others don't even recognise that they have it. It's your sub-conscious mind. When you have a "clear" focus, you always get your sub-conscious mind working on that focus as well, and helping you see the ways to deliver it. With a "vague" focus, your sub-conscious mind doesn't know what to do, so it just "goes to sleep". Give your sub-conscious mind a "CLEAR" focus.

2008-04-06 - Fear Robs You of your Potential
The biggest problem that fear brings you is that it stops you from taking action and achieving your full potential. Every successful person has learned to act in the face of fear in order to achieve his or her success. You can too. Just never stop taking action.

2008-04-07 - You Just Got to Move On
We may encounter people who make our experiences with them very difficult ones, and then we just can't put the experiences out of our minds. Dwelling on anything negative too long has long-term impacts on our energy and drive. We need to look for the learning from those experiences, and then we just got to move on. Moving on means moving forward.

2008-04-08 - Make Decisions Fast and Change Them Slow
There's a big difference between successful people and unsuccessful people. Unsuccessful people make decisions slow and then change them fast. Successful people make decisions fast and change them slow. What's important is to make decisions fast and keep them, as constantly changing decisions really impacts getting things achieved. Remember to make'm fast and change'm slow.

2008-04-09 - You Grow When You Admit your Mistakes
Look at most successful people and you will see people who have the confidence to admit when they made a mistake. They don't really hide from it, and know that great things get accomplished when people take big action, and that means making some mistakes from time to time. Successful people just admit their mistake and keep moving forward (taking that big action).

2008-04-10 - Search your Heart as Life Takes Passion
When you are not sure of a particular course of action for your life, it is often best to search your heart. A life lived well takes passion, and any course of action that does not include passion will never yield the results you would like or help you reach your potential. Remember, life takes passion.

2008-04-11 - Convince the Inside to Convince the Outside
There are many companies that fail to achieve to the potential, and their leaders are often asking themselves WHY? Many times the reason is that they didn't convince the inside (the employees) first. To convince the outside (the customers), you always need to convince the inside first.

2008-04-12 - Your Response to Circumstances
Everyone sees your behaviours, and people make judgements about you on how you respond to the different circumstances you encounter each and every day. How you respond is really your choice. Remember, even in the most difficult circumstances you may find yourself in, it is always your choice on how you respond to them.

2008-04-13 - It is Easy and Difficult at the Same Time
You can say that many of the actions to be successful are both easy and difficult at the same time. Because they are easy to do, they are also easy not to do, and that's the difficult part. All successful people have created the discipline within themselves to keep it easy, and have created the key habits that enabled their success.

2008-04-14 - Is your Pace Sustainable?
You often see people working so hard that you have to wonder if their pace is sustainable. Being focusing and working hard is important for success. However, we all need to make sure that we have the right balance in our lives. Find that right balance pace and balance for you, and you will not only achieve success, but also enjoy the trip.

2008-04-15 - How You Turn the Lights On
We all get motivated and fuel our passion in different ways. Success usually comes to those who understand how to turn the lights on (fuel their passion). Find what turns your lights on for you and fill all your days with it. Your passion is a powerful driver of your focus and action.

2008-04-16 - Real versus Ideal Organisations
We all would prefer to create the ideal organisation for any group where we takeover the leadership. However, we always need to understand 'Reality' and use this as a basis for where to start with the organisation and to then drive the changes needed. Remember to work with what you have, while you build what you need.

2008-04-17 - Leading by Influence
Leadership is all about influence. You can only use your position power so far in getting things done. To win over both the hearts and minds of your people, you need to use your personal power, and this all come down to the ability to influence others. To become a better leader, develop your communication and influencing skills further.

2008-04-18 - An Extra of the Ordinary
A great way of being extraordinary is to just always give a little extra of the ordinary. All the key skills and behaviours are really basic disciplines that most people overlook as not being that important. However, the successful people make it a habit in doing the extra of these 'ordinary'.

2008-04-19 - Sometimes It is Good to Look Out the Window
They say that people looking out the window are not really working. However, when you are feeling stressed or stuck on something, looking out the window can be just the right thing to change your perspective. Often taking a break will bring you back to the task with a different perspective, and suddenly you see a way forward you didn't see before.

2008-04-20 - Build Rapport Before You Need It
The best approach is to build rapport with key people in your business and your life before you will need it. Very often people take for granted the other people they know, and when some troubles arise, they are often asking for help or favours from people they really don't know well. Build rapport with others by focusing on helping them, and in return, they will help you when the need arises.

2008-04-21 - Stand for Something
If you ever want to achieve success in life, you will have to always stand for something. You have got to believe in something that drives the values and behaviours that you use to live your life. If you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything.

2008-04-22 - Avoiding the Blinders
There are far too many people going through life with the blinders on, and blocking the very things they want. These blinders are really those negative beliefs that are stopping them from seeing the opportunities that could help them achieve what they want. Are you seeing the opportunities? If not, build the belief in yourself and take those blinders off.

2008-04-23 - What can I Learn from this?
We all encounter problems in our lives and go some difficult periods from time to time. It is always how we respond to these challenges that really makes the difference. A great question to ask ourselves is: What can I learn from this? The best approach is to always look for the learning and move on.

2008-04-24 - You See the World as you are
How you see the world is based on what you have become so far. If you have only had very narrow development or experiences, then you will see the world in very narrow ways. Search out ways to develop yourself and broaden your experiences, and you will have a much broader perspective on your world as well.

2008-04-25 - Helping Others See What They Want
One of the skills of the very best leaders is also the skill of a great coach. The very best leaders help their people see what they want. These leaders understand that if their people are working at something that's within their passion, they will take more ownership and pride in making it happen.

2008-04-26 - Less can be More
In the world today, everyone wants more. We are constantly buying things we don't even use, and then wondering where to put it all. Also, we are bombarded with information every day and most of it we can't even make use of. In these cases, more is not necessarily good. When we focus on what we really want, we always understand that we can achieve it with less (less things and less information). Remember, less can be more.

2008-04-27 - The Two Most Powerful Words - 'I am'
'I am' are the two most powerful words you can say. Whatever you put after those two words is the predictor of what you will become. The people who succeed in life create their own energy by always following those two words with something positive every time. You can too, and begin today by saying 'I am...what you want to be....'.

2008-04-28 - Pick up the Vocabulary of the Group
We all encounter new situations or join a new company or team. Very often, it comes down to our ability to learn the 'vocabulary' of the new company or team that helps us fit in better. Each company or team has their own unique abbreviations and ways of saying things. Learn the vocabulary and you build rapport with others much faster.

2008-04-29 - To Know and Not Do is the Problem
There are often people that take some training and come out of the room saying 'I know all that!'. What is often true is that the people saying this are often the very people that do not do it. For many people, to know and not do is the problem. Successful people not only know it, but also do it.

2008-04-30 - The Talent to Develop Talent
One of the best talents a leader can have is to develop talent. Leaders who grow their key people will then have great role models spread throughout the organisation. These role models will provide an excellent example for others, and they will also follow the example of the leader and grow others in the organisation as well. The talent to develop talent is what drives the creation of powerful organisations.

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