Newsletter for June 2010: The Secret to Positive Personal Motivation
The Secret to Positive Personal Motivation
Strictly Business: Does the Market Need You?
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This Months Thought
To achieve more, make sure your core values, your short-term goals and your daily strategies are aligned. Make sure you can say, "day by day, I'm getting better and better." When your daily actions accurately reflect your core values and you have a solid strategy, you'll win every time.
The Secret to Positive Personal Motivation
Every month I get emails from people asking how to over-come procrastination and stay motivated. My sense is that they are opposite sides of the same coin.
Procrastination is, basically, avoiding something we don't want to do. Rationally, I may want the benefits an action could bring, but if I also fear embarrassment or discomfort, I procrastinate. It's a way to cope with situations where we both want and fear a possible outcome, so I view it as a form of negative motivation. When I procrastinate, I'm highly motivated to avoid a situation.
There are many forms of negative motivation. Laziness is the desire to maximize temporary comfort above all else. Fear of failure or punishment can motivate people for brief periods, but it's not efficient in the long run. Artificial deadlines, contests and "motivational seminars" are adrenaline-based ways to temporarily boost performance, and to some degree, they all work.
But they are not a firm foundation upon which to build a life. Negative motivation works in an emergency, but not for a lifetime.
Positive motivation, on the other hand, is value-driven and much more efficient. When I'm motivated by a positive vision, a sense of destiny or desire, my behavior, thoughts and attitudes are all stimulated in the same direction.
When there is consistency between our values (love of family) and our stated goals (being a good parent),
When our values, our goals and our strategies are aligned, human beings are incredibly productive! Want examples? Ask any kid learning to walk, or wanting to stay up past her bed-time. Ask a teenager who wants to make the team, or date someone her parents don't like. Ask Lance Armstrong about going for a bike ride on a cold, windy, rainy day. When our values, our goals, and our strategies are aligned,
we perform!
It's only when these things are out of alignment that we struggle. When one of my key values (to spend more time as a family) conflicts with my goals (to get that promotion), or when I don't have a viable strategy, I get in trouble. Without an effective strategy, why try?
To achieve more, start by checking your core values. Many people get in trouble at this point. We say we value ambition, but we actually value vacations or relaxation even more. Or, here's a common example-most people say they value a comfortable retirement, but what they actually value is the prestige of a new car, a bigger home, or eating out.
To increase motivation, first start with a rigorous examination of your core values. What is most IMPORTANT to you?
Second, make sure your daily actions and the "small" goals of daily life actually reflect your values. Ask most adults to list their five- or ten-year goals and they'll sound pretty good. But ask them to list their daily projects or their plans for the weekend, and you may see a conflict. Make sure your value of "financial security" is reflected on your monthly credit card statement.
Third, always work with tried-and-true strategies, and remember that "hope is not a strategy." Have a plan, and work your plan. Make an action list or create a "road map." And here's a hint: Most ambitious people know they should have written goals, but not as many take the time to develop a great strategy. Have a solid, workable and confident strategy!
To achieve more, make sure your core values, your short-term goals and your daily strategies are aligned. Make sure you can say, "day by day, I'm getting better and better." When your daily actions accurately reflect your core values and you have a solid strategy, you'll win every time.
Quotes of the Month
"Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies." -- Mother Teresa
"Happiness is that state of consciousness which proceeds from the achievement of one's values." -- Ayn Rand
"Try not to become a man of success but rather try to become a man of value." -- Albert Einstein"
"We are what we imagine. Our very existence consists in our imagination of ourselves. The greatest tragedy that can befall us is to go unimagined." -- N. Scott Momaday
Strictly Business: Does The Market Need You?
About ten years ago, an acquaintance of mine built one of the best photography studios in our area. They had a magnificent facility, the best equipment and "back office" I have ever seen, along with talented photographers. They did at least one cover for a national magazine and business looked great. And yet within a few years they closed their doors. Why?
Digital photography. As my friend said, "We had the best typewriter factory in town." They were doing amazing work, and yet the market left them in the dust. Given their investment and their business model, they couldn't adjust so they folded their tent and quit.
Earlier this year, I talked with a talented and passionate medical professional who's working harder than ever, and making less and less. Changes in the economic realities of medicine are forcing her out of business.
Over the years of coaching hundreds of business owners and leaders, I've been startled at how many fail to ask the question: Will the market buy what I'm selling?
Obviously marketing, service and pricing play a huge role in the success of any business. Talent and passion are vital. Efficient systems and top quality are a must, but before any of that, there is the fundamental question; Who will buy what I'm selling?
Are there enough potential customers out there? Can you reach them? Can they afford to buy? Will they pay enough to cover your costs of doing business and generate a profit?
Many business leaders focus on what I call, "arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic." They focus on the internal workings of their business, while ignoring the "macro-economic" forces around them. Will the market buy what you're selling? That's an essential question and it must be faced realistically.
Successful entrepreneurs monitor both the internal operations of their business, and the external environment around them.
Humor: This Has Gotta Gogh!
The following puns are truly awful, I fear some will be offensive, and they've been around for a long time. And, poor twisted soul that I am, they still made me laugh and so I'm passing them along. I hope you enjoy them!
Van Gogh Family Tree
His dizzy aunt -------------------------------------Verti Gogh
The brother who ate prunes -------------------------Gotta Gogh
The brother who worked at a convenience store ------Stop n Gogh
The grandfather from Yugoslavia --------------------U Gogh
The cousin from Illinois ---------------------------Chica Gogh
His magician uncle -------------------------------Where-diddy Gogh
His Mexican cousin ---------------------------------Amee Gogh
The Mexican cousin's American half-brother ---------Gring Gogh
The nephew who drove a stage coach-------------Wells-far Gogh
The constipated uncle ------------------------------Can't Gogh
The ballroom dancing aunt --------------------------Tang Gogh
The bird lover uncle -------------------------------Flamin Gogh
His nephew psychoanalyst ---------------------------E Gogh
The fruit loving cousin ----------------------------Man Gogh
An aunt who taught positive thinking -------------Way-to Gogh
The little bouncy nephew ---------------------------Poe Gogh
A sister who loved disco ---------------------------Go Gogh
His niece who lives in a motor-home ------Winnie Bay Gogh
Well, there you Gogh!
For info on resources for your success, visit: http://www.rodgerblaker.com or call me at 214-485-2238.
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