Daily Thought Archives: April 2009

April 1
IS YOUR ENVIRONMENT CREATING INSPIRATION FOR YOU
There's a saying that we are the average of the ten people we spend the most time with. That being so, are the five people in your life creating inspiration for you to use your potential? It is important to surround ourselves with the right people.

April 2
THE LAST STEP IS THE NEXT STEP
Meetings are a big problem in many organisations, as very often they are unfocused. Meetings should always start with an outcome, and an outcome is not just a discussion, but a result. The last step in the meeting should be defining the action that will move the meeting result forward (the next step).

April 3
SMALL STEPS DEVELOP BIG BREAKTHROUGHS
In all aspects of life or business, it is often the repeated small steps that develop the big breakthroughs. Many people are often looking for that special magic moment, the breakthrough they have been looking for. However, those who achieved their breakthrough, know it only came from the repeated small steps (their hard work) over time.

April 4
OUR BEHAVIOURS REVEAL OUR VALUES
You can understand people's values by observing their behaviours. The behaviours of others, especially during times when the pressure is on, will reveal their true character and core values. You can really learn a great deal by observing the behaviours of others.

April 5
HAVING SOME SAY ON WHAT GOES ON
One of the things that gets your people's commitment is them having some say in what goes on with the organisation. Input on the strategies, plans, and key actions will help your people to both participate in and have commitment on the direction. As they say: input = output.

April 6
OVERCOMING WHATEVER YOUR ENCOUNTER
The true self-belief or confidence that successful people possess could be summarised as follows: Whatever they encounter, they realise that they have the abilities to overcome any obstacles or challenges that come in their way. Remember, your belief up front determines your path to the end.

April 7
THE PATIENCE / IMPATIENCE BALANCE
One of the most difficult things to do in life is to get the balance right on being patient / impatient. A too patient approach often doesn't show others your commitment, and a too impatient approach can be interpreted that you are too obsessed with that particular thing. If you strive to get the balance right, you will get more help from others in getting what you want.

April 8
DREAM, GOAL, PLAN & ACT
A great set of words to remember in getting what we want in life are: Dream, Goal, Plan & Act. Dream first, and dream big. Then, set a goal that takes you forward towards your dream. Next, plan - decide what you will do and stop doing to make room for the "Do". And finally, deliver the plan with ACTION.

April 9
PRACTICE MORE THAN YOU PLAY
You can see the benefit of this in many successful athletes. They practice more than they play. However, you can also see this in successful business people. They also practice (doing their preparation) before they play the game of business. The preparation makes them successful, and it can do the same for you.

April 10
PURSUING YOUR POTENTIAL
You could define life in the following way: It is pursuing your potential. To live your life to the fullest, you need to use your potential to the fullest as well. Why not take this view of life and plan your days and weeks pursuing your potential the rest of your life.

April 11
ACTIVITY CAN BE YOUR ENEMY
Everything happens when we take action. However, it is what we take action on that produces something of value or not. There are far too many people who are just focused on being busy, and just being busy is really your enemy. Focus on outcomes, your achievement, and activity will never be your enemy.

April 12
INTEGRITY EMPOWERS YOU
There are many people who think principles (their integrity) can be too restrictive. It actually is just the opposite. People with high integrity gain strength from their principles (integrity), and this enables them to make faster and clearer decisions on all critical issues.

April 13
WHEN YOU THINK EVERYTHING IS RIGHT
They say that complacency killed off more companies than anything else. What starts that complacency is the feeling that everything is right. Life for individuals is all about continuous improvement and the same is true for companies. If everything feels right, it's not. Keep improving.

April 14
UNDERSTAND HOW OTHERS SEE YOU
The very best leaders are very secure in their own abilities and actively ask others how they are doing, as well as how others see them. Only weak leaders shy away from getting feedback from others and this can limit their growth & success. Ask for feedback, and never limit your growth.

April 15
NEVER SETTLE FOR LESS
The word "settle" has a meaning that you have given up something that you really wanted. There are too many people who have settled for what they currently have in life. Those who don't settle are always focused on using their potential, and almost magically the opportunities always appear.

April 16
SUCCESS = YOUR SELF IMAGE
There are many definitions of success in the world, and every day, it seems, someone is creating another one. However, success really starts within an individual, and the blueprint for success is always a person's self-image. How's your blueprint for success?

April 17
STAKEHOLDERS ARE EVERYWHERE
When driving any projects, the support of your key stakeholders can be critical to the project's success. However, very often there are some stakeholders that you don't immediately think of that could be important later in the project. Remember, stakeholders are everywhere.

April 18
LEADERS NEED TO CREATE EXCITEMENT
To effectively drive any change, you will always need to get people excited by the change. People really buy into something emotionally first, and then justify it logically. It is the same with getting people excited. Get your people emotionally engaged first.

April 19
PROCESSES CAN REINFORCE THE CULTURE
If you are a leader, building the right culture for your organisation can be one of your top priorities. The right culture is achieved by reinforcing the right behaviours, and very often it is the key common processes you establish that help reinforce both the behaviours and the culture.

April 20
STAYING MOTIVATED NO MATTER WHAT
The big difference between people who achieve what they set out to do and those who don't is that the "achievers" stay motivated no matter what happens to them. They know that the size of the obstacles are always at the same size of what they want to achieve, and staying motivated is the only way to overcome them.

April 21
DON'T CONFUSE IMAGINATION AND INSPIRATION
It is important to not confuse imagination and inspiration, as some people do. There are people who have a very good imagination and are highly creative. However, it is often that these people lack the inspiration to take action on their ideas. Imagination and inspiration need to go together to get what you really want in life.

April 22
LISTENING TO WHAT ISN'T BEING SAID
One of the most important skills in life is being a good listener. In fact, good listeners are not just good at listening to what is being said, but also for what isn't being said. It is listening for both that makes you a very effective listener and will enable you to achieve even more success in life.

April 23
WHY DIDN'T I SEE THIS BEFORE
We need to continually challenge ourselves to look at things from everyone's viewpoint. Why? Because there are two ways to take a broader perspective. Do something different to take you mind away from it for a while, or take another person's point of view to see things in a different perspective. You often then see what you didn't see before.

April 24
SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE DO IT ANYWAY
Sometimes people who haven't achieved success yet will look at the successful people as different from who they are. The truth is that successful people often get the same feelings of whether they can do it or not, just like everyone else, The difference is that they take action and do it anyway.

April 25
LOOK NO FURTHER THAN IN THE MIRROR
Many people are always looking for the answers in life from others. In many ways, they are not really willing to take responsibility for their own lives. To have the life you desire is all about taking personal responsibility and you need not look any further than in the mirror.

April 26
LOVE STARTS FROM WHAT'S INSIDE US
You often hear people say that I would love him/her more if he/she would do..... Love doesn't work that way. It is not something that starts from the outside, but from inside ourselves first. Remember, love starts from the within first.

April 27
YOU ALWAYS HAVE A CHOICE
You often hear people say,"They made me act that way". These people are letting others determine their behaviour. However, no matter what happens to us, we always have the choice on how we behave. Never surrender the choice of your behaviour to others.

April 28
THERE IS NO "THEY" ONLY "I" AND "WE"
All of us would be more happy and get more done in life if we would eliminate the word "they". All change that is best for us is driven by "I" and "We". Never expect others to change things for us. Remember, if it is going to be, it is up to me (and we).

April 29
THINGS THAT ONLY YOU CAN DO
A great little exercise for leaders is to take a few minutes and write down a list of those activities that only you can do. Then, ask yourself, how much time am I currently devoting to these? Maybe not as much as you would like, and remember, everything not on that list is possible to delegate to others.

April 30
YOU PROVE IT EVERY DAY
What you do each and every day is important. You are actually proving to others how much they can trust you (you are showing your level of discipline and integrity). Take this view on life and you will ensure that your behaviour is much more consistent than it is today.