Be Clear on Your Purpose

Why are you doing this? Ask that question of yourself before you invest your time, money or effort. Clarify the purpose of each meeting, program or decision before you commit.

Why are you making this phone call? Why are you attending this networking event? Why are you investing in this marketing idea? Why are you spending time on this administrivia?

Before every meeting, clarify the purpose and time limit. Your meeting will be more productive and people will be more willing to meet with you. For example, I almost never return a phone call in response to a message that states, “Call me”.  My first thought is, “Why?” What would be the purpose of my return call?

Many rules and policies have lost their purpose.

If you find that people are answering your question about purpose with “We’ve always done it this way”, then you know that they are overdue to seriously address this question.

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This is part of the Top 10 Tips to Make 2012 a More Productive and Profitable Year as originally broadcast on the radio show Business in Motion on 93.3 CFMU by your host, George Torok. To listen to the 30 minute radio show, visit the Business in Motion podcasts.

Fail Fast, Fail Often, Fail Cheap

Be willing to make mistakes and learn from them. Look at failures as lessons that help you move forward. No particular mistake or failure should be the end of the process. The only decision that you might make that ends the process is the one to quit. Consider mistakes as a cost of growing. Claim your return on that investment by learning from each stumble.

Unfortunately the schools have taught us to avoid failure. The emphasis is on obtaining high marks instead of the learning process. Instead we need to seek success and be prepared to manage the failures.

We tend to learn more from our failures than our successes so if you want to learn faster – fail more often. If you haven’t failed in recent memory then it might mean that you are playing it too safe. For example, if no one ever complains that your price is too high, then it’s too low.

Fail cheap. Don’t bet the farm, because you could lose. Always consider the downside of every venture. Do what you can to diminish the pain.

Thanks to Jim Estill for this powerful advice. I’ve heard him say it often and every time it resonates with me.

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This is part of the Top 10 Tips to Make 2012 a More Productive and Profitable Year as originally broadcast on the radio show Business in Motion on 93.3 CFMU by your host, George Torok. To listen to the 30 minute radio show, visit the Business in Motion podcasts.

How to Promote Brand You – video interview by James Rick

Enjoy this inspiring and insightful video interview with George Torok on the topic of How to Promote Brand You. George is interviewed by Full Potential host, James Rick.

Watch this 16 minute interview.

FP #174: How to Promote and Make Brand “YOU” Stand Out – George Torok with James Rick from James Rick on Vimeo.

What Inspired You Today?

By today I mean this week, this month or this year.

Who or what inspired you?

What was it? How did it affect you? Why did it inspire you?

Most importantly – How will you apply that lesson or energy to inspire others?

George Torok

Fail More Often

Success is on the other side of failure.

If you want to be successful, you must first be willing to fail along the way. Depending on your goals you might need to fail many times.

Author Jim Estill offers this advice to success seekers, “Fail, often, fail fast and fail cheap.”

I believe that failure is a significant stepping stone to success for two reasons:

1. If you are naturally gifted and only do what you are good at you will not appreciate the success that you achieve.

2. Most of us will stumble and fail along the way to success. It’s the stumbling and failures that guide us.

The key is not be be discouraged by failure – inspite of what others might say. Accept failure as part of the process. Consider the number of people who continue to buy lottery tickets even though their bid for the big prize ”fails” every week.

Apply that same devotion to the important goals in your life. Laugh at failure and work on your next move.

We learn more from failure than we do from lucky success. Don’t set out to fail but do accept it and move on. Perhaps your goal list for the new year should also include the goal of constructive failures.

If you want to find more success keep discovering new ways to fail forward.

George Torok

Keynote Speaker

Canadian Business Speaker

Stop trying to be perfect

It’s a waste of time and repeatedly frustrating because you will never achieve that goal. You will never be perfect. It’s not your fault. It’s just not possible. Instead strive to be better. Set a series of achievable steps. That will reward you with an ongoing stream of successes. They might only be small successes but even a small success is better than failure after failure.

Some say that Edison failed ten thousand times before he invented the light bulb. My guess is that he viewed each experiment a success because he eliminated another false possibility.

Success encourages your confidence. Small successes generate the desire to reach out again and be better.

Real life is not a report card. It’s not about getting A or 100 percent because those yardsticks are not measures of real success. That’s just school stuff.

Instead of chasing perfection, chase one small success after another. That’s more practical and rewarding.

I know many successful people but no one that’s perfect. Successful people get comfortable with imperfection. They focus on success.

Who’s Responsible for Your Success?

When you are successful – you are responsible.

When you are unsuccessful – you are responsible.

Your level of success is all about you. It might not seem fair but success follows responsiblity. It never follows blame.

 

Creative Problem Solving: Acute vs Chronic Problems video

Deal with problems more effectively by understanding the difference between acute and chronic problems. Tips in this video from George Torok about how to recognized the differences and how to attack the problems.

Superman is a Lousy Role Model

If you had to pick a superhero as a role model who would you choose?

If you chose Superman you might be setting yourself up for failure and tremendous disappointment.

Why might you be tempted to choose Superman as your idol? Well, he is perfect. He is all-powerful, all knowing, always wins and always does the right thing. If that is your standard you will always feel inadequate. How can you hope to compare?

Superman is the strongest guy on the planet – maybe even this side of the galaxy. Comparing yourself to Superman is like comparing your net worth to Bill Gates and wondering where you went wrong. It is just not worth the pain.

Superman is invulnerable. Nothing, with the exception of the rare element, Kryptonite can hurt him. It’s not fair. All kinds of things can hurt the rest of us. And I’m not just talking about bullets, bombs and missiles. Falling down the stairs can put you in traction for weeks. Fender benders can send us to the hospital. My buddy is allergic to bee stings. Even peanut allergies can kill some people.

Superman never gets sick. No common cold for him. He wears glasses in his secret identity as ClarkKent. But he doesn’t need them. He’s never had the mumps or measles. No embarrassing pimples for Superboy. You will never hear of Superman suffering from diabetes or cancer. It’s just not fair.

Superman can fly. I wish I could fly. But flying scares the heck out of me. I’m not sure how I would handle it. Again I lose. Damm that Superman.

Superman can see through things with his x-ray vision. Just imagine how that power might have helped you write your school exams or avoid buying that lemon of a car.

Superman has super hearing. If you could hear what other people are saying you would know the right price to offer, the magic words to say and the perfect card to play.

Superman has incredible endurance. The guy doesn’t tire. He can fly around the world or run around the world within minutes. I remember how many hours it took and how much it hurt to run my marathon. It’s just not fair.

Superman has a few enemies and some people who hate him. But he knows who they are and he is capable of dealing with them – physically, mentally and emotionally. My enemies are few, and people who hate me are few – but many people who don’t even know me seem to be out to destroy me mostly through their ignorance. I am powerless to ferret them out. And when I discover them they don’t seem to tremble at my might. Not fair.

The Fortress of Solitude. I want one. How do I get one? And what realty taxes does Superman pay for that prime real estate?

How did Superman become super? Easy. He was born on another planet.

What kind of message is that to send to our children? You could be perfect if only you were born on another planet. You were born on Earth so you don’t have a chance at greatness. Talk about being born with a platinum spoon in your mouth – like Ken Thompson or Donald Trump. Sure they both made some millions – they both started with millions. I know people who started with nothing and still have nothing. That makes them even.

So is Superman a real hero? No, he is a fantasy. I love Superman – the imaginary hero. But he is not my role model. I know better.

Superman is too perfect. Superman is too close to – dare I say – God. How can you model yourself against God? The Greek, Roman and Norse gods showed human flaws. It’s a lot easier to identify with them than with Superman.

Superman is a wonderful comic book superhero but a lousy role model. I think that Batman is the better “superhero” to choose as your role model. He has no god-given powers, only discipline, determination and skills.  He turned a tragedy into his good-doing. That is a true hero and a better role model.

When you are looking for superhero inspiration, look to Batman instead of Superman.

© George Torok has no super powers. He is a professional speaker who was a shy student. He learned, developed and honed his presentation skills to superior ability. He coaches and trains business leaders to deliver million dollar presentations. Visit http://www.Torok.com to learn about his programs.  Call 905-335-1997 to arrange a speech or training program.

Change the Questions

If you’re not getting the answers you want – change the questions.

I heard this valuable advice from Joe Calloway. Let’s look a little deeper into this gem. I agree that asking the right question is much more difficult than answering the question. Asking the question determines the perspective, responsibility and value of the answer.

Smart people ask smart questions. Stupid people ask stupid questions.

Don’t buy into the myth “There are no stupid questions.”

The reality is that there are stupid questions. If you want better results, ask smarter questions.

For example:

If you have been asking, “Why won’t anybody hire me?” change the question to “What can I do to get hired?”

If you have been asking, “Why is business slow?” change the question to “What can I do to improve my business?”

If you have been asking, “Why do I feel so down?” change the question to “ What can I do to feel excited about my possibilities?”

If you don’t like the answers – change the questions.

Bold But Not Brave

I’ve never considered myself brave. Bold maybe, but not brave.

What’s the difference?

Brave always meant to me doing something that placed my life in danger. I don’t believe that I was brave. I probably placed my life in danger without intending to. That might have been foolishness.

Bold. That was different. Bold meant challenging norms, facing embarrassment or public failure.

I’m often bold. I often state my opinion even when or especially when it is contrary to the group think. I’ve done things that others might have considered brave but I only considered bold. I backpacked around the world at the age of 20. I quit a good corporate job to become an entrepreneur.

Maybe you don’t need to be brave. Just be bold. Do or say something against the norms.

George Torok

Canadian Motivational Speaker

 

Confidence – Magic?

Confidence

 

Confidence is the currency of success. Like money – the more you have the more you get. Unlike money, you can’t borrow, trade or steal it.

 

Confidence is at the DNA level of every successful person. Yet, they can’t explain, share or give it away.

 

Confidence is a powerful asset. But it can’t be measured, catalogued or repossessed. It’s intangible.

 

Confidence is in the mind of the individual. No one else knows your confidence nor can they take it away from you.

 

Confidence is not perpetual. We often doubt ourselves. Our confidence can jump up and down throughout our day. That’s normal.

 

Confidence is internal. We can’t control that. Others judge us on the external. We can control that.

 

Confidence can’t be seen yet we know when we see a person with confidence.

 

Success is less about luck and more about confidence because that drives persistence.

 

Confidence is the willingness to try again after failure.

Confidence is the power to more forward when the way is not clear.

Confidence is the ability to move past fears.

 

Fear Should not be ignored

Fear is our most primal and powerful emotion. It is the emotion that is most responsible for our survival. For example, the fear of Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD) kept the human race from destroying itself during the cold war between theUSAand theSoviet Union. Neither nation wanted to launch ICBMs against the other because of the fear of retaliation.

 

I’ve heard people, (usually young people) boost “Nothing scares me.”

 

That can sound like a proud boost. But it’s never true. Perhaps people say that because they don’t want others to know about their fears. That deception might help the individual reach a short term goal.

 

The truth is that we all have fears – and we have them for good reason. Acknowledge and recognize your fears. It’s part of you.

 

If that fear is stopping you from doing something that you want to do – then learn how to manage or mitigate that fear.

 

But always respect your fears. That makes you real.

Pain & Hope

Pain and hope might be two sides to the same coin. Both necessary parts of our life – like Ying and Yang.

Pain reminds us of yesterday. Hope draws us to tomorrow.

Pain reminds us of past struggles and failures. Hope paints a picture of future success and joy.

Pain can depress us. Hope can excite us.

Pain immobilizes. Hope activates.

We all have our share of pain dragging us down. When it does, flip the coin.

Wherever there is pain – there is always hope on the other side.

Flip the coin and enjoy the hope.

George Torok

Hope, Vision, Action

Strangely, those were the inspirational words of advice from Frank O’Dea.

Why is that strange?

His life journey took him from multiple rapes as a child to teenage drunkeness and skid row pan handling on the streets.

Hope

At one time the only hope he had was to receive 99 cents to buy a cheap bottle of wine.

His hope grew and he was able to beat that demon. He became a successful entrepreneur and philanthropist.

Listen to his story in this radio interview on Business in Motion.

Frank O’Dea interview.

Read more about Frank O’Dea.

George Torok

Motivational Buisiness Speaker

Smile – it’s Contagious

Smiles beat frowns. Whose side are you on?

A smile is a curve that sets everything straight. - Phyllis Diller

The world always looks brighter from behind a smile. ~ Author Unknown

A smile is an inexpensive way to change your looks.  ~ Charles Gordy
A smile is the light in the window of your face that tells people you’re at home.  ~ Author Unknown

Everyone smiles in the same language.  ~ Author Unknown

I’ve never seen a smiling face that was not beautiful.  ~ Author Unknown

The shortest distance between two people is a smile.  ~ Author Unknown

Smile – George Torok

Motivational Speaker

Stop Trying To Be Perfect

It’s a waste of time and repeatedly frustrating because you will never achieve that goal. You will never be perfect. It’s not your fault. It’s just not possible. Instead strive to be better. Set a series of achievable steps. That will reward you with an ongoing stream of successes. They might only be small successes but even a small success is better than failure after failure.

Some say that Edison failed ten thousand times before he invented the light bulb. My guess is that he viewed each experiment a success because he eliminated another false possibility.

Success encourages your confidence. Small successes generate the desire to reach out again and be better.

Real life is not a report card. It’s not about getting A or 100 percent because those yardsticks are not measures of real success. That’s just school stuff.

Instead of chasing perfection, chase one small success after another. That’s more practical and rewarding.

I know many successful people but no one that’s perfect. Successful people get comfortable with imperfection. They focus on success.

George Torok

Motivational Business Speaker

Host of Radio Show, Business in Motion

Who are you?

How many times have you heard that question?

How did you respond? Did you state your name? Did you say that you are with the bride’s side of the family? Did you state that you knew the deceased in high school? Did you mumble that you are the child, spouse, parent, or cousin of some one else?

Did you respond with your title? President, manager, or janitor?

Did you respond with a description of your work? Are you a business owner, company executive, accountant, sales rep, mechanic, truck driver, factory worker, nurse, lawyer, clerk, cook, reporter, editor, real estate agent,

Who are you really?

How many times have you asked yourself that question?

Are you an individual or are you only defined in relationship to someone or something else?

We are Borg. That’s one way to answer. Perhaps it’s not about you, It’s about your community.

None of us are one thing. We are individuals living in a complex world. We have many sets of relationships.

Are we defined by relationships?

Are we defined by tribes?

Are we defined by roles?

Are we defined by current, past or future work?

Are we defined by our dreams and hopes?

Are we defined by our pain, mistakes and failures?

Are we defined by our beliefs, opinions and dreams?

Are we defined by our hopes, dreams and goals?

Are we defined by our joys?

Or are you Borg?

Come Back Off the Ledge

Perhaps you’ve seen the TV shows or movies where a police negotiator convinces a frantic person to “come back off the ledge” of a skyscraper. “Take my hand. Don’t jump. You have so much to live for.”

Now imagine that you are that negotiator striving to bring a depressed person back off the ledge.

What would you say to the person who justifies their planned suicide with:

“I can’t find a job. Nobody wants to hire me.”

“My wife left me. I thought we would be in love forever.”

‘I hate my parents. They don’t understand me.”

“I ran out of money. I can’t pay the bank.”

“Cancer. Why me? Why suffer any longer?”

“The love of my life died. I’m alone without him.”

“I’m a loser and nobody cares.”

“Everyone is against me.”

You have the opportunity to save this person and bring them back off the ledge. Say the wrong thing and watch them dive to their death.

What would you say?

I suggest that you think about these scenarios and plan your plea. Why? Because you might save a friend some day and you might save yourself.

Add your own “ledge crisis” to this list and search for the answer because maybe the jumper you need to reach is yourself.

Be ready to motivate yourself with the “come back off the ledge” speech.

George Torok

Canadian Motivational Speaker

Business Speaker

Perspective: Times Change

If you want to understand people – understand their perspective. One of those perspectives is time.

I remember when:

Everyone had a black dial telephone – and party lines

Sunday night TV was Walt Disney and The Ed Sullivan Show

We got our first colour TV

Listening to records on the new Hi Fi – 45s, 78s and LPs

We bought milk in glass jugs from the corner store – I broke one

Getting the strap at school – more times that I care to admit

Wondering where in the world Vietnam was – and why was it on TV every night?

Listening to air raid sirens and wondering if this was the end of the world

If you want to understand me and people like me then you might need to appreciate some of those things.

Give what you want, and you will get more

If you want more people to like you – like them.

If you want others to be nice to you – be nice to others.

If you want to receive more kindness – give it more often to others.

If you want to be respected by others – demonstrate your respect for others.

If you want more understanding – be more understanding.

If you want to feel more lucky – be more grateful.

What Hurts You Now?

What will it take to make that pain go away?

Sometimes it’s time. The loss of a loved one or the healing of a wound.

Sometimes you need to focus on the goal and ignore the pain. Like preparing for an exam or training for a marathon.

Sometimes you need to change what you are doing and stop banging your head against the wall. A job, career or relationship that is not working.

The tough part is knowing the difference and selecting your path of pain relief.

What excited you this week?

Happy or angry – that excitment is part of who you are. That is fundamental to your motivation.

My close freind asked to meet for a beer. I agreed instantly.

My dad asked me to to drive him to his doctor’s appointment. I agreed.

Destination vs Journey?

 The Fallacy of Goals 

I rode my motorcycle to Port Dover. I’ve been there many times throughout my life but it was my first trip by motorcycle.

I mapped out a route that would avoid the logical roads that I would take by car. I wanted to get away from the traffic.

Of course it took me much longer – almost two hours. I stopped a few times to check my maps. I took a wrong turn and had to back track.

When I arrived I toured the town then stopped for lunch. Munched a burger and fries at the Port Dover landmark “The Arbor” then strolled around.

My visit to Port Dover lasted about 45 minutes then I headed back on the same route. Total time out was about 4 hr 30 min.

Later when I related my journey to a friend he laughed about the curious time imbalance. That’s when I realized that it was never about the destination. That was just a goal of convenience. It was the journey that thrilled me.

It’s not that setting and chasing goals is bad. Maybe it’s a Maslov hierarchy thing where achieving goals meets one level of need and enjoying the journey is a different level.

Maybe…

Or it just might be the musings of a middle aged guy too infatuated with his motorcycle.

What do you think?

George Torok

Cooking Day

I’m lucky. I love to cook, but I don’t need to cook every day. My wife also likes to cook. She cooks more often than me. I enjoy her cooking.

So – I don’t need to cook. But I enjoy cooking and she enjoys my cooking.

I cook because I want to, not because I have to. Whenever I annouce that I will cook she allows me to do that.

Today I decided to cook because I wanted to. Cooking makes me feel good. It gains me a few points. And I get to have some fun in the kitchen.

George Torok

How Long Can You Hold Your Breath?

Probably one or two minutes. If you are really good, you might hold your breath for up to three minutes.

Breathing is critical to life.

Motivation is critical to growth. You need motivation every day to get up, get going and fight for your share.

You probably don’t think much about beathing or motivating. Yet they are both critical to your life.

Remind yourself to breathe and motivate yourself every day.

Happy New Year

It doesn’t matter how bad or good the last year was, I always believe that the new year will be better.

I think that is the best way to start any new year. First believe that it will be better. Then do what you can to make it better.

It’s a two step process. You need to do both. Hoping and praying is never enough.

George Torok

Ecstacy – Cold Wind in Your Face

I love to ski. So you can imagine my ecstasy over my first day of the season on the slopes. It was wonderful as I rediscovered my skiing skills which had been dormant for 10 months.

My friend and skiing buddy, Wayne, was equally excited about our first day of skiing.

However, while we rode a chairlift up the hill we felt the biting wind which was especially chilling on our faces.

My inner voice was thinking, “Damm that’s cold. Maybe we should quit early”. Apparently Wayne was thinking the same thing. That makes two voices screaming “quit”.

Sounds like an easy decision.

No, because another voice was saying, “You came here to ski. It’s too early to quit.”

What could we do?

We skied to another slope facing a different direction. It was less windy. We waited a few minutes at the bottom of the hill to warm up. Then we rode this chair up the hill. It was less windy and all of our voices were singing in harmony – “Let’s go skiing”.

We changed our position, took a brief break and encourage each other to continue skiing.

No challenge or pain is permanent. It might feel devastating at the time. Take a break.

Change your position, perspective or approach and the pain becomes history.

George Torok

Motivational Business Speaker

Canadian Motivational Speaker

Set Attainable Goals

Nothing wrong with dreaming big. But allow yourself some wins first, even if they are small wins.

If you want to run a marathon, first you need to get a pair of running shoes, get out the door and run around the block.

Dream big and set a series of attainable goals that move you forward.

George Torok

I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas – video

This silly and light song has got to make you smile – and maybe dance a bit.

Enjoy Your Christmas – smile, laugh & dance

George Torok

Motivational Business Speaker