Daily Thought Archives: February 2006

February 1
THE POWER OF QUESTIONS
There is tremendous power in questions, both for us and in leading others. The questions we ask ourselves help us to set our direction and actions in a more structured way (and towards what is important to us). Also, questions are very powerful in leading people. You can help your people come to their own decisions by using questions to help them think through the issues in more depth. Questions: use them today.

February 2
WE ONLY ACHIEVE TO THE LIMITS OF OUR THOUGHTS
Ever notice that all successful people saw their success in their minds before it happened. They had no limits on their thinking and could think big thoughts. What is your level of thinking today? If you want a better life, remove the limits to your thinking and you can make it happen.

February 3
IF YOU HALF PLAY, YOU LOSE
Anything done halfway is never successful. With anything in life, if you don't give it 100%, you lose. We often take on too many things and end up playing at 50% on everything. Pick a few key things in your life and play at 100% on them for the next month, and you will see the difference.

February 4
CLEAN UP YOUR SELF-IMAGE
Many people are held back from achieving what they are capable of by their self-image. What they are really saying to themselves is "I am my past." Being stuck in the past means that they will continue to get what they had in the past. Let go of the past and think in possibilities, and you will then create a self-image based on the future. Continually focusing on the possibilities will pull your self-image and you to the future you really want.

February 5
WHAT WAS GREAT ABOUT LAST WEEK
Too often we spend our meetings at work only on problems. There may have been a lot of good things happening, but we never get around to mentioning them. From time to time, why not conclude one of your meetings with people sharing "what was great about last week!" It's really good to discuss and celebrate together the goods things as well.

February 6
EMOTIONS - THE ONLY THING IN YOUR WAY
If you really think about it, the only thing stopping you is your emotions. Our emotions stop us all the time. We don't do what we know we should do, because we think it will create an unpleasant emotion and we want to avoid that. Think about that difficult call you have been putting off! Successful people don't let their emotions stop them. They have learned to "take action" and just accept some unpleasant emotions they get along the way as part of the deal to get what they want.

February 7
PERSISTENCE - SURRENDERING TO YOUR PURPOSE
A good definition of Persistence is "Surrendering to your Purpose". When you have a strong purpose (goal), persistence is merely just accepting to do all that is necessary to achieve it. Surrender to your Purpose today and you can achieve the life you want faster than you think.

February 8
MAKE YOUR PEOPLE ACCOUNTABLE
As a leader, it is important that your people feel accountable for their areas of responsibilities. When they bring problems to you, don't solve the problems for them. Instead, ask questions to help them solve the problem on their own. That way the accountability for implementing the solution does not slide back on you.

February 9
GIVE YOUR ATTENTION TO THE PRESENT MOMENT
Many times we think too much about the past or just dream about the future. We really need to make the best out of the present moment. It's right to spend time on your future and your goals. However, after they are set, it is important to give your attention to the present moment and take action towards those goals. The total of each day's "present moments" become your future.

February 10
DOING BETTER THAN GOOD
If you want to keep a positive attitude through the day, and also make an impact on the people you meet; why not say, "I'm doing better than good". You have heard the quote "our thoughts makes us", so why not use our language to help keep us positive and also to influence others. Why not be "Better than Good" today, tomorrow and everyday.

February 11
BE PROACTIVE VS. REACTIVE
The world is moving at such a fast pace these days. People really are not taking the time to think, and end up spending their entire week in a very reactive way. They are constantly being influenced by events and other people. Why not take the time to think ahead and be proactive in the way you set the focus for your next week. This allows you to take consistent action towards your focus and not let others divert you to other things.

February 12
MATCH BODY LANGUAGE FOR BETTER RAPPORT
If you want to build a greater rapport and influence people, match their body language when having a meeting with them. If they are sitting straight, sit straight also. If they are sitting back in their chair, sit back as well. Do the opposite and you'll create a little tension without saying a word. Match body language in your next meeting.

February 13
TIME BOX YOUR KEY ACTIVITIES
When we have some key activities to do, it's always good to set aside specific times to do them. Also, it's important to block off a specific amount of time to do them as well. This provides you with a goal (complete the activities in a limited amount of time) and helps make sure that you keep your focus.

February 14
ATTITUDE ACTIVATES EVERYTHING ELSE
People with a great attitude win in life even if they aren't the smartest. Why? A great attitude is what activates everything else. It provides the fuel to take action, and taking action is what separates successful people from unsuccessful people. Keep a great attitude today.

February 15
HAVE GOALS IN ALL PARTS OF YOUR LIFE
People very often establish goals for their work-life, but forget to set goals for their private-life as well. We all need to drive a balanced life, and that means having "balanced goals". Take a few minutes this week to review your goals and make sure you have a balanced approach.

February 16
MEETING OUR NEEDS DOESN'T HAVE ENOUGH POWER
You often hear people say, "If only I can make enough money to....". Just meeting our needs is not really powerful enough. It doesn't get us excited or create the right energy to make things happen. It's important to define goals that inspire us and create the excitement and energy to fuel the necessary action. Create some exciting goals today.

February 17
MAKE DECISIONS EARLY
To accomplish more, it's important to make decisions early and not procrastinate. The most effective leaders always focus their energy on the decision making process and making sure that decisions are made at the earliest possible point in the process. You probably have noticed that you have been better off when you made important decisions earlier and didn't procrastinate.

February 18
LIFE LONG LEARNING
It's good to think about your own development as Life Long Learning. Our learning and development never stops, and we should always be on the lookout for new ideas. Set your learnings goals just as you would set any other goals in your life.

February 19
A WISHBONE WITHOUT A BACKBONE IS USELESS
Many people wish for a better life, but lack the discipline and focus to take the sustained action to make it happen. It is good to dream and visualise what you want in life, but you have to follow that up with the action as well. A wishbone without a backbone is useless.

February 20
PEOPLE TUNE INTO INFORMATION IN DIFFERENT WAYS
People take in information in different ways. Some people are picture oriented. They, "I see what you mean". Others are word oriented and understand things better when powerful words are used. Try to explain your ideas to others in many different ways. That way you have a better chance of connecting with everyone.

February 21
HANDLE DISCOMFORT - CONSIDER IT NORMAL
If you are constantly trying to improve yourself and your career, then you should be challenging yourself every day. Challenging yourself to try new things will always be taking you out of your comfort zone, creating discomfort. So, if you are growing, you will be experiencing discomfort routinely. Given that, why not consider discomfort as something "normal" and just accept it.

February 22
NEVER SAY NEVER - BE ADAPTABLE
The world changes so fast these days that the key skill is to be adaptable. Our jobs and our lives are changing all the time now, and nothing is staying still and neither are we. Being adaptable will become a key criteria for any new hire in the future. So, start today. Be adaptable and never say never.

February 23
TAKE THE FIRST STEP
Too often we develop problems with some people and our first thoughts are to avoid them and avoid the problem. This solution never works and the problem never just remains the same size (it only gets bigger). Be the one who takes the first step and talk to the other person. Be big enough to Take the First Step.

February 24
REPETITION - THE KEY TO SUCCESS
Competence in something comes from really being incompetent first, and then learning, improving and repeating what you are doing. It's the repetition that brings the skill and the confidence that yields the competence you want. Think "Repetition" - the key to competence and to your success.

February 25
SPEND QUALITY TIME WITH YOUR BEST PEOPLE
Great leaders spend a larger portion of their time with their best people. They don't let their problem people drain the time away that is available for their best people. This way they are helping their best people grow faster and that helps the company to grow faster as well. What amount of time do you spend with your best people?

February 26
JUST GET USED TO IT
To be successful, we need to accept that we will need to do some things that we don't really like to do. The difference between successful people and unsuccessful people then becomes very clear. Successful people "Do" the things they don't like anyway and unsuccessful people "Don't". They just accept that they will do whatever it takes to be successful and "Just Get Used to It."

February 27
NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR, BUT RESPONSIBLE TO
Sometimes managers feel that they are responsible "for" their people. They take everything on themselves and feel personally impacted by the actions and feelings of their people. Your people need to feel responsible for their own lives, and as their manager; you are not responsible "for", but responsible "to". Your responsibility is to create an environment for them to develop and succeed. It's up to them to take advantage of that environment and to then "make it happen".

February 28
RECOGNITION - USE IT OFTEN
The most successful leaders use recognition as one of their most powerful leadership behaviours. Recognising people who have done something well is very important, and communicating it to others is a double win. The person you are recognising feels important, and others see that good results and behaviours get recognised. This then has a positive influence on the others as well. Use recognition this week and see your group become more successful.