Failure?
QUOTE:
“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
— Michael Jordan
Failure can be such a disappointing Blow. Ouch! Frustrating!
You work hard, you push everyday, you give it your all, you think you have mastered “It” and at the end of the day, sometimes… after all of that, some thing still gets in the way.
I don’t know about you but I would NEVER consider Michael Jordan a failure. He didn’t let fear stop him and neither should you. I’m not encouraging anyone to fail but when we do, we should learn from that experience and understand that failing helps us grow and become even more successful. Stronger, wiser and yes even more accomplished!
I want you to take risks. No matter what you have experienced in the past, make today the day you will commit to dusting yourself off and begin anew.
Let me ask you: What is one action you have been putting off that would change the game for you?
Identify it. Strategize how to tackle it. Embrace it.
NOW TAKE THE FIRST STEP IN ACCOMPLISHING IT!
Posted on April 21, 2015
What is your Cookie?
In Jewish tradition, it is customary during a funeral, especially a funeral for one’s spouse, to ask for forgiveness from the deceased spouse for any transgressions that may have occurred throughout the entire marriage. Clearly, after 54 years of marriage, one would think that we would have plenty to ask forgiveness for. Maybe an ill thought, a bad word spoken in anger, something, anything and yet, during the funeral of the great Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach’s wife, people were stunned to hear the following message out of the mouth of the great Rabbi himself:
“Although it is customary to ask forgiveness from a person that has passed on,” “I shall not do so. Throughout our entire marriage we never offended or hurt one another. We conducted our lives according to the laws that govern our faith, and I have no reason to ask her forgiveness.”
After many, many years of marriage and what must feel like a lifetime, how could he utter those words with complete confidence? Surely one must have something to be forgiven for, no?
The Rabbi, a great teacher who was described as a “Gentle Giant”, once told a story that I feel shows a great sign of self-control. And better yet a “work around” that can be used in every aspect of todays life, especially in the business environment. He stated that everyday before he walked into his house, a home in which his lovely wife (Chaya Rivkah Ruchamkin) would be waiting to greet him, prior to walking through his front door, he would eat 2 COOKIES before entering the dwelling. He did this in preparation for the “unexpected.” What if dinner wasn’t ready? He didn’t want his hunger pangs to inflict any ills on anyone, especially not his wife, so he prepared ahead of time. 2 cookies, everyday before entering his home controlled any ravenous hunger pangs and thus caused the Rabbi to remain in control.
My question to you today is, What is Your Cookie?
What do you do everyday in anticipation for your less than perfect reaction? Reactions that if not anticipated ahead of time would hinder your progress in all you do or say. It is time to find your cookie. “Stack the deck” as we say in business. Don’t be blind to the behavioral traits you have that can cause an undesirable reaction. Don’t just stand there and say that you know you have this habit and you are “working” on breaking it. Work around it. Use the cookie and walk through life knowing you are in control of your thoughts, actions and ultimately your life and the way you want it to play out.
Develop a thorough understanding of what may cause you to react according to your surroundings and allow for a design to circumvent, that which may cause your legacy to be tainted. Like the Rabbi, whom, upon his death had a turnout of nearly 500,000 people at his funeral, you want to be remembered for your greatness in all areas of your life too; family, friends and not just business.
What are they going to think when you are not only gone, but simply when you step out of the room.
Leave your mark starting today……………What is your cookie?
Posted on April 10, 2015
Is it Crazy?
Insane Focus:
Do More of What Matters…
- Identify what actually matters most. Be honest with yourself about the actions that truly move the needle in your business and your life. An 80/20 analysis is a great place to start. If you’re stuck, just think of the tasks you fear the most, that give you anxiety just to think about. Those are likely the most important.
- Pick your top 3-5 tasks each day. These are the things that must happen no matter what gets in the way. If you get these done your day is a success. Stick to no more than five. Then at the end of each day measure the results. They must move you closer to your big goals. Checking email does not count.
- Do not connect to anything until your set tasks are done. Don’t convince yourself you need the Internet or email to do your most important tasks. 95% of the time you don’t. Leave the Internet off and phone on airplane mode until you crush through the important tasks. If your tasks are segmented throughout your day, then disconnect yourself from email and cell phone for the times you are handling the task at hand.
- Kill multitasking. Stop thinking it’s more efficient. It’s not. No surfing during phone calls, reading during meals, chatting while writing. Do one thing at a time. Simple. Not only is multitasking terribly inefficient, but it stresses you out and it’s rude to anyone around you.
- Handle the task at hand from “Cradle to Grave”. Leaving a voice mail or sending an email is not completing anything. Don’t fool yourself in believing anything other then the desired result is acceptable. The idea of focus is to complete what you set out to do. Anything short of that is Mediocrity at its best.
- Plan more time for each task. This is the easiest way to balance the schedule. And things always tend to take longer than we think. If your core task will take you 45 minutes, then block out 60 minutes. Actually schedule it on your calendar. If it only takes you 40 minutes then suddenly you have free time.
- Take breaks and reward yourself. Most of us can only intensely focus on something for an hour at best. Take at least a few-minute break every two hours or so to clear your head. Find a fun way to get you free and clear. Take a walk, meditate, feed the ducks, breathe, get a snack or some water or listen to an inspiring song. You pick it. But in order to remain focused and effective you have to disengage every so often and recharge.
At the end of the day intense focus is the key to success. I have said it time and time again.
“Successful people do what unsuccessful people are not willing to do”.
Then ask yourself, why would you care if some insignificant people think you are crazy???
Posted on April 1, 2015
FEAR!
What do I fear?
I fear stagnation and lack of progress.
I fear never reaching my potential and being average.
I fear being forgotten… The past… Yesterday’s news.
I fear giving up and being passed by, going softly into that good night.
I fear settling, giving in to the “that’s just the way it is” mindset.
I fear not feeling these fears anymore and just floating along.
These fears feed me, they nourish my drive.
I love my fear.
– Unknown-
In life there are winners and losers. What separates the winners from the losers? FEAR!
The Problem is, people allow fear to cripple them. I’m here to tell you that you were born to win, but in order to actually accomplish it, you have to let go of those limiting beliefs that hold you back. You MUST plan to win and prepare by setting goals. Much like the famous saying: “Build it and They Will Come” type of mentality; Expect to win!!!
Own your fears, push into them everyday and the most amazing thing will happen, you will grow by every experience.
Realistically, you can’t rid yourself of fear 100%. Its in our DNA to react but its my hope that you will change what the fear based symptom is. To distinguish between a false negative and learn how to harness the power within to move up the success ladder.
Start living! When you get overwhelmed, scared or fed up in all the hard work you think is blocking you from reaching the next level, remember the end goal, which is to be great and leave your mark in this world. You can do it! Now you need to believe. Stop the noise and get out of your own way and accept all challenges that come your way. In this way, you will feel the thrill of victory instead of fear.
