Good Morning Sunshine!

Four Things – Breakthrough your Morning Routine

Stop dreading the morning and wake up with vigor and vitality, weather it is a slow rise or mind blowing excitement!  Simple things for anyone to do to use the morning hours before work to get that extra edge – or breakthrough boom!

 

According to Inc. Magazine, morning people have been found to be more proactive and more productive. In addition, the health benefits for those with a life before work go on and on. What four things you can do before 7AM.

 

Four Things – Breakthrough your Morning Routine

 

Visualization – Buckle up I am going to go a little new age with you, but guess what it works. These days we talk about our physical health but we often neglect the mental and spiritual. The morning is the perfect time to spend some quiet time inside your mind meditating or visualizing. Take a moment to visualize your day ahead of you, focusing on the successes you will have. Even just a minute of visualization and positive thinking can help improve your mood and outlook on your work load for the day. Bonus – this contributes exponentially to your attitude and “attitude is every baby”.

For all of the commuters out there – meditation does not require a dark room, candle and some incense, use what you have.  Close your eyes and block out the world for five minutes.  A good friend of mine used to think I snapped early in my career when I listened to ocean waves crashing on the beach. Do what works for you.

 

Prime the Pump - Most people that work out daily, work out in the morning. Whether it’s a morning yoga session, a frigid swim (Cap that is for you) or  the gym, exercising before work gives you a boost of energy (physically and mentally), for the day.

 

Pre-Game - Maximize your potential by mapping out your schedule for the day, as well as your goals and to dos. The morning is a good time for this as it is often one of the only quiet times a person gets throughout the day. The early hours foster easier reflection that helps when prioritizing your activities. They also allow for uninterrupted problem solving when trying to fit everything into your timetable. I tell people to schedule personal time to get oriented at any point of the day to be more thoughtful of what activities must be planned.

 

48 Hour Rule – What are you planning to do today that you need two days from now.  Operating ahead of schedule allows you to shape the final product versus the just in time results that are often marred with errors and not well thought through approaches. One hint for beginning your day, do that least desirable task first on your to-do list. Instead of anticipating the unpleasantness of it from the first drips of coffee through your lunch, get it out of the way. The morning is the time when you are (generally) better rested and your energy level is up. Therefore, you are primed to handle increasingly more complex projects. 

Bonus, your day will get progressively easier, not the other way around. By the time your work day is ending, you’re winding down with easier to dos and heading into your free time more relaxed.

 

Start small and build, the key is to build upon new habits to focus your efforts. “People only see what they are prepared to see.”

Do Whatever It Takes - Differentiating Yourself

People may think it’s an unconventional approach, but you have to stand out. People aren’t getting the job they want because they are not successfully cutting through the competition. You have to ask yourself does the decision for the role really have to do with the state of the economy - or is it simply that people are not breaking through the pool of candidates, whether there are one hundred or three in the hunt for the role.

Think about that - How are you going to differentiate

One of the professionals I mentor was thoroughly disappointed in the decision by the employer not to continue in the process.  I asked two simple questions; did you "own" the interview or did you make any mistakes? The second questions was how prepared were you for the role?  The answer was obvious to him and to me by the answer.

  People are making mistakes on the interview. They’re not preparing. If you have a job, you’re being overlooked for promotions and advancements because you are either an “under the radar player,” doing the minimal or you’re doing great things but no one knows. You must know how to sell yourself and your accomplishments.  Experience exposed me to a great volume of different candidates - People show up confused, poorly dressed and unprepared. They obviously didn’t do their research, they knew nothing about me or the goals of the organization. They share their personal problems and speak poorly of their last employer and blame others about their current situation in their interviews. 

Coaching the same individual for another prospective leadership role with a smaller organization - the rules are the same and actually heightened due to the entrepreneurial dynamic of the organization.  The basics he iterated to me was focusing on three key things he was going demonstrate:

Act hungry

Look great and assimilate to organizations style

Be clear about what he can do

I have a simple approach to any interview and it is based on the traits I value; attitude, agility and aptitude.  I know limiting myself to three my drive some people mad, but it helps simplifying things in general.

Attitude - If you are not emitting a positive and proactive mindset, then wow, what transpires when you are not around.

Agility - What percentage of job descriptions actually remain the same?  Based on the nature of the economy being in near constant market disruption organizations must be agile enough to adapt quickly to emerging trends impacting the business.  That translates to individuals being agile and open to new ways of doing things.  The combination of Attitude and agility is one powerful individual.

Aptitude - Are you qualified for the role, not in years of experience but in the ability to influence others and manage the span of control of the role.  Additionally this also refers to understanding the organization and the individual they are interviewing - doing your research and knowing your target is crucial in your aptitude for the role. With Google, there is no excuse for lack of preparation. 

It is better to be pleasantly surprised rather than unpleasantly unprepared.

Breakthrough your morning

Someone  used  to say they needed to get up at 3:30AM just to get a head start  in front of my morning thoughts and email.  While that is a little exaggeration the morning is extremely important for everyone. It is the foundation from which the day is built and how you choose to spend your morning can be used to predict what kind of day you’re going to have.

I have discussed the nature of success and how it requires some unconventional approaches to focus on what matters most. How can you expect to be successful if you’re not happy?  Money helps along the way, but only you can make yourself happy and successful from the inside out.  There isn’t any amount of money that can buy that.

Real happiness and success comes from the "quality of your attitude", your relationships, and the emotions you experience each day.  You can easily recognize those individuals with the victim mentality and that everything in life is the cause of others.  The attitude and mindset plays a specific role in happiness versus drama. How can you start to start? Start answering big questions about your life and move confidently in that direction with massive actions.

The big question for tomorrow morning - What is the most important thing I can do today for my own well-being? If you don’t take good care of yourself, then you can’t take good care of others either; which is why taking care of yourself is the best selfish thing you can do.

Every new day is a chance to change your life.  Work on making life all that you want it to be.  Work hard for what you believe, and keep your dreams big and your worries small.  Figure out how you can best serve yourself today.

Remember, you never need to carry more than you can hold, just take one step at a time.  The actions and the unconventional approaches require a massive shift in your mindset. And while you’re out there today making decisions instead of excuses, learning new things, the language used and getting closer and closer to your goals, know that there are others out there, like me, who admire your efforts and are striving for greatness too.

Breakthrough your morning

Being the Bar - Breakingthrough Goals

What does it mean to be succeed? Does it mean reaching a goal - or is it something related to consistency, maintainance and perseverance? So much of it is based on character, as one of my good friends and I discussed today, character is physical manifestation of intent and action.

We have predetermined notions of what is possible based on prior efforts and your own parameters. Limiting your objectives means you will Limit the actions to accomplish your goal. I see so many people underestimate themselves in what they can truly accomplish. When you limit yourself on goals you will limit your success - are you willing to put in the time? You can blame a ton of people to rationalize where you are in life. Blame yourself - tomorrow is a new day to commit yourself.

Setting massive goals, require massive thoughts and those thoughts require massive actions - pure and simple.

You may have to do things other people think are unreasonable to surpass your own goals.  Being unreasonable is about doubling, tripling, quadrupling your effort on a goal that is grounded in solid moral character and ethics.

Let's stop competing and start delivering excellence - herd mentality negates much of what can be accomplished. 

I used a latin phrase Fortuna Juvat "Fortune favors the Bold", in a recent discussion with a mentee and thought long and hard about that phrase. If marketplace only recognizes excellence, my question is simple what are you doing to manage your energies to focus on excellence? Stay focused on your own targets bold goals.

As long as you are alive you will do one of two things; accomplishing your goals or be used to accomplish someone else's goals. Focus on success that builds upon itself. Remember setting massive goals, require massive thoughts and those thoughts require massive actions - pure and simple.

Seize every opportunity today, tomorrow and the next day

Each new day is sincerely an opportunity.  Faced with many medical and personal challenges in my family and in my life, you have to extract the marrow out of life each and every day. The thing is, we just don’t know what tomorrow brings. Therefore we have to seize each day to do the things we want to do and say the things we believe are important.

Think of all the time wasted on the nonsense of anxiety and worry. The time we take up being unhappy, the time we use up worrying about the future or pondering the past is wasted. It is a wasted opportunity and a wasted privilege. I used to joke with a friend about Sunday Night Syndrome (the wash of panic of the coming work week).  With a little planning and positive enforcement it dissipates. Time wasted with unhappy and negative thoughts is time you will never ever get back.

Every now and then, and usually not very often, are some words spoken that deeply resonate with you. They make you stop and reflect. The words and their meaning will stay with you for a long time. They might even inspire or motivate you to do something different or to change direction. These words can come from quotes or personal affirmations.

My father always referenced the Latin phrase Carpe Diem - Seize the Day. The two words originate from a poem by Horace (65 BC-8 BC) and that they were used in a Babylonian Epic in which Siduri spoke them to urge Gilgamesh to forge his mourning and embrace life. Carpe Diem are two simple words with a significant amount of depth. They mean embrace life, grab the opportunities and make the most of the present moment. These two words helped me immensely at that point in my life and I have never forgotten them. 

Instead of pondering the past or worrying about the future, you should live in the here and now. We can waste so much time reflecting on the past, the things that happened, why they happened to us, what we did wrong. We can also waste so much time dreaming about a brighter future, about the things we would like to do or become one day. For me, Carpe Diem reminds me that yesterday is gone, tomorrow is not yet here, and today is your only chance to make a difference. If you make the most of today then you will live your life to the fullest.

We should see each day as a present and an opportunity. Every minute is valuable because you can use it to enjoy life, to get something started or to get something completed. The present moment is the only time in history that you can use to do good and to change for others and for the world - no matter how big or small.

Carpe Diem tells us to free ourselves from the worries, the anger and the negativity that is holding us back sometimes. It reminds us that it doesn’t matter where you came from, what you went through in the past; the only thing that matters is where you are going and that your future destination starts with the steps you take today. 

Today is your only chance to make a difference and live. Always remember that is in this moment, and only this moment, when you can be happy, you can say and do something, you can love, you can feel, you can enjoy and you can learn. 

Perspectives on wisdom and your own journey

1.  Wisdom is not about knowing all the answers.

It’s not the answers you get from others, or even the ones you formulate, that will help you in the long run.  It’s the simple questions you ask yourself on a regular basis that will determine the type of person you become.  Wisdom is about asking the right questions.

Regardless of your age or stature, life is always filled with unanswered questions.  It is the courage to ask these questions and adventurously seek the answers that continues to give life meaning.  Have patience with everything that remains unresolved in your heart.  Try to love the unanswered questions themselves.  Do not demand all the answers; they cannot be given to you because you have to live through them.  It is a matter of experiencing everything.  Only when you do will you gradually, perhaps without even noticing it, find yourself arriving at the answers you seek.

2.  Get out of your comfort zone -  You have to do lots of things you aren’t good at to grow.

If you do what you have always done, you will get the same results you have been getting.  If you want to stunt your growth and feel stuck in the same place forever, keep making excuses.  If, on the other hand, you want to stop feeling trapped, you have to start doing things that make you uncomfortable, things you aren’t very good at.  You have to streeeetch yourself.

There is no excuse for remaining stuck.  There is no excuse for doing the same things over and over again.  Life is too short.  Ask yourself if what you’re doing today is getting you closer to where you want to be tomorrow.

The day is rapidly approaching when the risk to remain perched in your nest is far more detrimental than the risk it takes to fly.  Fly!  Start to Start and Start now.  What a dissappointment it would be for you to grow old without ever seeing the beauty and strength of your full potential.

3.  Everything you own has an emotional cost of ownership.

No matter what you own there is a maintenance cost.  We can speak in dollars – insurance, taxes and interest.  Or even in time – cleaning, updating and protecting.  But the hardest maintenance cost for most people is simply sentimental value.

We transfer our feelings and memories onto an object and decide we can’t let go because we’ll risk losing the feeling or memory.  Before long, we become surrounded by these visual reminders of our memories and no longer have room to make new ones.  It’s hard to move forward in your life when your past is crowding your present.

The answer, of course, is to get rid of some of this stuff.  But that’s way easier said than done.  We often need to be compelled to do this with a move or a lifestyle change.  Imagine how much richer life would be if you moved the junk out and made room for new opportunities instead of grudgingly making room only when it was forced upon you.  

4.  Characters character - flaws are beautiful and likeable.

Nothing is perfect; the world itself is not perfect.  But we’re all here living for our dreams and each other, trying the very best we can.  And that’s what makes us so darn beautiful.  The little things about you that you think are your flaws are often the reasons others fall in love with you.

Accept your flaws.  Admit your mistakes.  Don’t hide and don’t lie.  Deal with the truth, learn the lessons, endure the consequences of reality, and move on.  Your truth won’t penalize you.  The mistakes won’t hurt you.  The denial and cover-up will.  Polictical people are predictable. Liars and phonies are not.  Every human being is made entirely of flaws, stitched together with good intentions and finished with unique edges shaped over time.

5.  The things you do for fun can pay the bills if you do them right.

Work, if it is interesting, is a stimulant.  It’s worry and a lack of interest in what you’re doing that drains and discourages you.  Every one of us should have our hobbies and side interests – as many as we can handle efficiently and happily.  Our interests should never be allowed to lag or get cold so that all enthusiasm and passion is wasted.  Each day can be a success if you feed your interests as graciously as they feed you.

Happiness is found where interests and capabilities intersect.  If you do what you love and then master it so you can do it much better than anyone else you know, it is entirely possible to make a living from it.  Even better, you will not get tired out from working when your work interests you.  The key is to find the point at which what you love, what you’re good at, and what people will pay for, intersect.

6.  How are you going to make someone successful today? 

Some of the most unpleasant people just need a little help. Provide support when it makes sense, even when people are cold and unfriendly.  Some people are rude and complain as a way of crying for help.  They may not be conscious of it though, so their comments come across as attacks rather than requests. Resist the urge to judge or assume.  It’s hard to offer compassion when you assume you have them figured out.  Let them know they are not alone. 

7.  Take time to think

Sometimes you need to be alone… not to be lonely, but to enjoy some free time just breathing and being YOU.

In order to be one with your relationships and life’s work, you have to turn away from the busyness of the world for a while.  You need to find solitude to refuel.  You must become so alone that you withdraw into your innermost self.  You must do nothing at all, except to be still with the moment.

You need to ponder your successes and failures in seclusion; you need the sunshine and the moonlight to warm you without companions to distract you, without the ongoing banter, face to face with your inner core.

Adapt or Die

Adapt or Die – searching for innovative ways to develop a system, a team and oneself is not as elusive as you think.

Moneyball was a great movie for a myriad of different reasons, but it reminded me of the search for innovative ways to develop a system, team and oneself.  There were many one-liners in the movie, but "adpat or die", was born out of pure frustration which many of us can empathize with in our daily rituals of using the same methods to try and return different results.

It seems to me that there is a significant amount of discussion regarding innovation across a multitude of organizations to gain a competitive advantage.  This advantage is not insulated to the surface of the organization, but rather down to the individual.

Innovation and reinvention is often dormant for individuals and managers across a majority of organizations due to the simple fact that these individuals have not learned to lead effectively.  The majority of activity is focused on transactional tasks and people need to reply on others in order to effectively innovate.

Individuals cannot be forced to actively engage, collaborate and share their creativity, but they can be led with an attitude of community building and collaboration. Just as you cannot instruct a child to go play and be happy with others. Organizations are comprised of individuals and we often lose sight of this fact - People do things for their reasons, not yours.  Our primary goal as organizational leaders and contributors is to influence and enhance the potential of the collective group – it must start at the individual level through conversations and dialogue.  

There is a specific level of reciprocity that must be balanced with the individuals contributions as well.  Innovation in what we do and how we do things requires a balance of influence and then personal accountability. People can make excuses and separate from their own evolution.

There are two specific goals one as a leader and two as an individual:

·         As a leader – to help people achieve those things they did not think were possible, by combining both divergent and convergent thinking.

·         As an individual - to take concrete action daily, to grow as a person - make a positive incremental difference whatever you do, wherever you are, within your circle of influence, starting with self.