October 2008

MARK'S DAILY THOUGHTS: October 2008

2008-10-01 - Desire to Make a Difference Now
People often feel a desire to make a difference, and often say "I will do it when....". Almost always, "when" never comes. Why not make a decision to make a difference now! Decide the first step (the action) that will start the progress towards what you want to achieve, and begin making a difference from today.

2008-10-02 - Self-Esteem - It can be Magical
People with high self-esteem accomplish great things, and often others look at it as something magical. A high self-esteem enables a person to always concentrate on using their potential, as they see the potential that is inside them so clearly. That appears magical, as most people go through life never thinking about their potential. Why not be the one with the magic, and begin focusing on the potential that is inside you.

2008-10-03 - Your Approach to Problems Determines You
You can look at others and quickly identify the successful from the unsuccessful by observing their approach to problems. Successful people have a positive approach to problems and to them, problems equal opportunities; and the bigger the problems, the bigger the opportunities. Your approach to problems determines what you will accomplish and the success you will achieve.

2008-10-04 - Learn How to Quiet Yourself
The best decision makers in a crisis do one thing extremely well. Before addressing any difficult decision they quiet themselves. They have learned that by quieting their mind, it helps them to see more clearly the issues/ideas surrounding the decisions needed, and they also make decisions faster. Learn to quiet yourself and you will make both better and faster decisions.

2008-10-05 - Imagination Creates the Destination
Unless you engage your imagination, you will always tend to just try to accomplish what you now perceive as the "possible" things in your life. Sometimes it is important to engage your imagination in order to visualise a truly magical destination that you would like reach. Remember, imagination helps you to create the destination that will challenge you to use your potential.

2008-10-06 - Combination of Hi-Tech & Hi-Touch
Today's world is very much enabled by technology, and it is technology that is enabling us to work in new and different ways. However, the truly successful leaders and companies use technology as just an enabler and not the solution. They understand that success comes from using the right combination of Hi-Tech and Hi-Touch.

2008-10-07 - Passion Fuels Influence
People will listen to what you have to say, if they see the passion you have about the topic. Passion is like a magnet that draws people's full attention to listen closely about what you have to say. When you have their full attention, you now have the ability to influence them with your ideas & insights. Remember, your visible passion will fuel your influence.

2008-10-08 - Knowing You "Will"
Knowledge is important, as it provides the foundation for good decision making (good judgement). However, what you achieve with what you know is more about knowing you "will". That means you have the belief in yourself and know you "will" overcome any obstacles and problems that are in the way towards achieving what you want. Know you "will".

2008-10-09 - Not Worth Compromising at any Price
Our principles and values guide what we do and the behaviours others see. There's a great way to define how principles and values can be put in practice in a power way. That is, they are not worth compromising at any price. When we use this definition to lead our daily life, our behaviours become more consistent and our integrity grows (both with others and ourselves).

2008-10-10 - Gaining Authority by Giving it Away
The very best leaders know that they gain more authority by giving it away. Delegating outcomes to be achieved helps their people take more ownership in what they do. People who take more ownership will include others in the organisation in better ways to make it happen. Therefore, by delegating outcomes, the leaders then extend their authority within the organisation. When ownership is delegated down an organisation, profits go up.

2008-10-11 - Not Stopping at the First Obstacle
There are so many people with the potential inside them to succeed. However, a great number of these people stop at the first obstacle that gets in their way. Remember, the size of the success your encounter will always be met with the same size of obstacles. The successful people never stop at the first obstacle, or in fact, any other ones as well.

2008-10-12 - Manage Risk Versus Avoid Risk
Risk is really a big part of being alive. Those people who accomplish great things in their lives are also encountering a great deal of risk as well. They accomplish a lot because they always look at risk as something to manage versus avoid. Remember to manage versus avoid risk, and you will accomplish more too.

2008-10-13 - Looking at Reality and Seeing Solutions
There is a great definition of an optimist. It is someone who looks at reality and sees solutions. Many people view optimists as putting a positive spin on everything, from today's reality to future dreams. True optimists see the world as it is. However, they see possibilities where others see impossibilities.

2008-10-14 - Don't Expect Others to Adapt to You
The people who struggle in both their personal and professional lives expect others to adapt to them. To create the relationships that will drive our success and happiness, we cannot expect others to adapt to us, but for us to adapt to others. It often happens when we adapt a little to others, then they will adapt a little to us.

2008-10-15 - Asking What Matters Most
There are far too many leaders who go into their 1-1's with their people unprepared. They start asking questions about what first comes to their minds, and often this is not the most important thing to ask right now. Leaders need to ask about what matters most, and they do that by being prepared.

2008-10-16 - Balancing the Important / Urgent
With the fast pace of business today, and more than ever, it is difficult to balance the important and the urgent. Many people struggle with this as they often allow the urgent to consume their focus, and thus they lose their attention on the important. Find the best way for you to keep the important in the front of your mind each and every day (and even throughout the day).

2008-10-17 - Delegate the Important
There are many managers who really don't understand delegating. They only delegate the tasks they don't like to do, the non-important ones. Real delegating is about delegating the important, as this is best way to grow people faster. When every manager is delegating the important, the whole organisation is growing faster.

2008-10-18 - Be What You Want Others to Be
They say the best way to learn is by example. Therefore, you could say that the best way to influence others is by example as well. That being so, a great goal to have is to be what you want others to be. To have more influence on others, start with yourself and make sure you are the best example of what you want to see in others.

2008-10-19 - What You Believe about You
There's one factor that has a bigger impact on what you accomplish in life than any other factor. It is what you believe about you, your self-esteem. Your self-esteem is either adding fuel to the fire or dousing it with water. Focus on growing your self-esteem and you will add fuel to anything you decide to do.

2008-10-20 - Taking Away the Excuses
Leaders are always trying to support their people and help them be successful. One of the things that great leaders do is to define the work in ways that take away the excuses. When work is defined in very clear outcomes and visible to everyone, the leader has created a structure that takes away the excuses. Their people feel more ownership of the outcomes and the visibility to everyone increases their commitment.

2008-10-21 - Results Speak for Themselves
You often see people talking all the time about what they are doing or all the things that they are involved with. However, the successful don't talk about what they are doing, but let their results speak for them. Successful people don't need to tell others what they are doing, as others can see it for themselves.

2008-10-22 - One Comment Can Make a Difference
Our words have power and an impact on others, and more than we realise. It is often that one small comment (either a positive or negative one) that has a lasting impact on others. That being so, it makes sense for all of us to choose our words more carefully and make sure we are making the right impact.

2008-10-23 - Vague Targets Produce Vague Results
The world belongs to those who are very clear about what they want. Clarity drives mastery and mastery of what's most important to you creates your success. However, being vague produces vague results. The key word to taking ownership of your world is clarity.

2008-10-24 - Success is not Convenient
The big reason why more people don't achieve success is that success is not convenient. People who achieve success do what others are not willing to do. They accept a little inconvenience in order to accomplish the goals they have set for themselves. Think about accepting a little inconvenience in the present, in order to get what you want in the future.

2008-10-25 - Ideas Work if You Work the Ideas
There are many times we get ideas and then we do nothing with them. Ideas only work when we work the ideas (meaning - we take action). Next time you get a good idea, decide right away on what action you can take. You will turn more ideas into results, and this will provide the fuel for you to create even more and better ideas in the future.

2008-10-26 - Making Sense of Uncertainty
You could say that one of the most important skills for today's leaders is to make sense of uncertainty. The world is even more uncertain than ever before, and a leader who can chart a path for his or her people during uncertain times is very valuable. Why? While others are "frozen" because of uncertainty, those leaders who set a clear path will have their organisations taking action where others are not.

2008-10-27 - Everyone's Greatest Choice: The Important
Life is all about making choices, and everyone's greatest choice in life is in the choosing of the important. The important is the criteria by which people say yes or no to everything that hits them each and every day. So you can see, your choice of what is important is framing the choices you make each and every day on how you use your time.

2008-10-28 - Ability to Give Very Clear Feedback
One of the core skills for successful leaders is the ability to give very clear feedback. Inexperienced leaders often know what they want to say, but lack the confidence and interpersonal skills to say it in a very clear way (and it sometimes needs to be also done in a very direct way). Clear feedback has a stronger impact on others.

2008-10-29 - Make Friends with your Past
The happiest and most successful people have learned to make friends with their past. There are far too many people who blame their past for their current situation in life, and making enemies with your past is not the way to achieve more in the future. Those who move on and focus on the present end up creating the future they want.

2008-10-30 - Knowing the Answer, but not Liking It
We often encounter situations in our lives where we know the right answer, but just don't like it. It is during these times that we delay taking action on the answer, and this makes the issue become worse, not better. Next time you find yourself in this situation, discipline yourself to take action right away. You may not like it, but you know it is the right thing to do.

2008-10-31 - Victim or Victor of Circumstance
Everyone is either a victim or victor of circumstance, and the real thing is that it never depends on the size or nature of the circumstances we encounter. We determine ourselves to be either a victim or victor by how we chose to respond to the circumstances we encounter.

September 2008 «

RSS Feed For Mark's Daily Thought