May you live in interesting times. Is that ancient expression a curse or a blessing? I think it depends on what you define to be “interesting” and more importantly how you adapt to it. If you define interesting to mean unpredictable, challenging and threatening – then clearly we are living in interesting times. Business these days is more like shooting the rapids in a rubber raft than canoeing in a duck pond.
It’s too easy to be mesmerized by the danger of capsizing. If you focus on the rocks – that’s where you will go. The secret is to look for and steer to the high water and paddle like a fiend.
“I like, and have adopted Mr. Branch Rickey’s way of looking at things. He was an old accomplished baseball executive. History knows him best for breaking the colour barrier for Jackie Robinson, in 1952. He said, “Luck is the residue of design”. Here’s the full quote.
“Things worthwhile generally don’t just happen. Luck is a fact, but should not be a factor. Good luck is what is left over after intelligence and effort have combined at their best. Negligence or indifference are usually reviewed from an unlucky seat. The law of cause and effect and causality both work the same with inexorable exactitudes. Luck is the residue of design.”
I totally agree with you and old man Rickey. We’re all lucky if WE choose!! It’s true, we make our own luck. Attitude plays a major role. I’ve worked hard to be where I am, and with out the work, luck wouldn’t matter much.
Take care,
Tom”
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Enjoy this insight from my good friend Tom on the topic of luck.
Not all actions are the right actions but taking some action is much healthier than not. This is a good time to “Fail Often, Fail Fast, Fail Cheap”. Try new things. Some will work, others might not.
To fail is not to be a failure, to not try is to be a failure.
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The above is an excerpt from an article by Jim Estill. The bolding is my emphasis. I think this is valuable advice for folks especially in these uncertain times when it is easy to be paralyzed by fear.
I’ve heard Jim Estill give his advice, “Fail often, fail fast and fail cheap.” If you’re not failing often enough maybe you’re not challenging yourself enough.
You can read the full article by Jim Estill titled, “Are You Galvanized or Paralyzed?” at the Canadian Marketing Blog.
“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?”
Have you ever made a promise that you wish you hadn’t?
My guess is that you probably have. You don’t need to fret over those hasty promises. Think about all the people whose marriages didn’t work out. Yet they all promised at the time of marraige to love each other forever – till death do us part.
That was a well meaning but dumb promise. We make those kind of promises when we are emotional or pressured.
And then we worry about breaking “our promise” even when everything else tells us that it was dumb.
Breaking your promise can be a good thing. Why? Because we often make promises under pressure or with little information. So when conditions or informaiton changes – we should re-evaluate our promises and break them if that is the right thing to do.
Doing the right thing is more important than keeping a dumb promise.
It’s easy to find inspiration if you just look around and notice other people doing wonderful things.
I was a partner in a public seminar this week. The attendance was lower than we wanted. It would have been easy to be depressed. Instead I found myself motivated by the interest and dedication of those who attended.
In particular – one person drove six hours to get there and another travelled from out of town by cab, commuter train and cab to get to our event. How could we even dare to let them down?
We delivered a fantastic program – because that’s what we do – and the audience expected it.
You only control one thing. That thing is how you think. There might be things that you can influence some of the time – but you don’t have control of anything other than how you think.
If you only have this one thing that you control you might as well understand it well and take better care and control of your thinking.
Decide how you want to think. Then do what you need to do to think that way.
This gem came to me from Brain Tracy’s book, “The 100 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws of Business Success”.
Leadership Quotations Compiled for you by George Torok
One man that has a mind and knows it can always beat ten men who haven’t and don’t. George Bernard Shaw, “The Apple Cart” (1930), act I
All great truths begin as blasphemies. George Bernard Shaw, Annajanska (1919)
When a stupid man is doing something he is ashamed of, he always declares that it is his duty. George Bernard Shaw, Caesar and Cleopatra (1901)
The key to being a good manager is keeping the people who hate me away from those who are still undecided. Casey Stengel (1890 – 1975)
Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other. John F. Kennedy (1917 – 1963), speech prepared for delivery in Dallas the day of his assassination, November 22, 1963
When you are right you cannot be too radical; when you are wrong, you cannot be too conservative. Martin Luther King Jr. (1929 – 1968)
Be a first rate version of yourself, not a second rate version of someone else. Judy Garland (1922 – 1969), to her daughter, Liza Minelli
Never help a child with a task at which he feels he can succeed. Maria Montessori (1870 – 1952)
Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest. Mark Twain
Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear – not absence of fear. Mark Twain
The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man. George Bernard Shaw
A real leader faces the music, even when he doesn’t like the tune. Anon.
Watch this 15 minute video to learn the forgotten lesson on how to motivate others. I gurantee this video will make you smile. Watch it and put a smile on someone else’s face. Validate them.
Luck is more a matter of perspective than it is the roll of the dice.
If luck is a matter of random chance then mathematically every one of us is equally lucky. Whether you think you are lucky or not is irrelevant. The real question is how lucky do you feel. Because, how you feel, will determine your actions and outcome.
Consider the passengers of the plane that crash landed in the Hudson River – were they lucky? You can imagine that there were moments during that scary nightmare that they cursed their luck. Yet upon the perspective of reflection they considered themselves extremely lucky. If you are afraid of flying you might consider yourself lucky for not being on that plane.
We are all lucky. It just depends on how we see it.
Motivational speakers are in demand more than ever and they’re up to the task to encourage people to share their optimistic outlook and to provide the spark that gives them the courage in hard times to pursue their goals and dreams
The Hamilton Spectator
Feb 14, 2009
George Torok
George Torok initially rejected the title ‘motivational speaker.’
“I thought no, I have content. That term is associated with fluff and nothing being real.”
But after 12 years of speaking to entrepreneurs, executives and employees about marketing and presentation skills, Torok realized that’s exactly what he was.
“I have content packaged with entertainment and motivation. Content without motivation is useless because nothing happens without motivation.”
He finally started calling himself a motivational speaker.
“In times like these, people need motivation more than any other time. But people don’t always buy what they need, they buy what they want.”
And in times like this, it’s a tough sell to encourage people, who are watching their co-workers get laid off, to work harder, increase sales, cut costs, do things differently.
“There is definitely resistance but people eventually come around.”
Calls are up for speeches and for one-on-one coaching in presentation skills. Torok typically does close to 100 speaking or training engagements in North America each year.
He says people see the thousands he gets paid for a speech and think it’s a glamorous life. Torok says they don’t see the hours going into writing and rewriting material, researching a company, making calls, writing articles.
“It’s constant learning. If I’m going to teach people, I have to know 10 times what they know or it’s not useful to them.
“Then it’s about what you can say that will help the company make that money back.”
Reported by Meredith MacLeod in the Hamilton Spectator, Saturday, February 14, 2009
Everyone needs to re-motivate themself from time to time. That’s normal. Here are three simple techniques that can help you feel more motivated.
1. Read or listen to motivational stories about others who have accomplished great things. These lessons are best taken from simple folks who struggled and achieved something great. They can be from any field – sports, business, politics, medicine, science, community service, etc..
2. Associate with people who are motivated and tend to motivate you. If that doesn’t describe anyone in your current circle of friends – find new friends fast.
3. Make it your job to motivate others. The satisfaction from motivating others can be a powerful self motivator. Just ask Mother Teresa.
As I was preparing for a media interview today about being a motivational speaker, one of the things that I asked myself was, “What are the critical elements of being an effective motivational speaker?”
I came up with three things.
Understanding pain
Everyone is experincing some pain. The motivational speaker must recognize and understand the pain of the audience. In addtion the speaker must demonstrate that he had experience a similar pain. Nobody wants to be lectured by someone born with the silver spoon in their mouth. Paris Hilton would not make an effective motivational speaker. Show me how you suffered.
Appreciating the power of hope
Everyone wants hope. And every merchant is selling hope. President Obama is a good example of one who is doing that very well. We want some part of our life to be better. An effective motivational speaker presents the better future as attainable.
Using perspective to make the transition
The transition from pain to hope is perspective. What was the “ah-ha” moment that changed your life? How is that transferable to others? Who else has been through something similar?
I like this approach because it is simple and easier to understand and follow. The article defines three elements needed to motivate yourself.
1. Confidence
2. Focus
3. Direction
To become more confident feel more grateful of the tangible and intangible things you have or have accomplished. We can forget or ignore those things so we need to be reminded.
Focus comes from clearly indentifying your goals – and knowing why you want them.
You will have better direction when you know the steps you can take to reach your goals. The second part of direction is to eliminate the activities that are not part of your direction plan.
Are you a passionate athlete who draws inspiration from Terry Fox’s Marathon of Hope?
At CBC Television, we are presently creating a program which would illustrate in detail what Terry accomplished in 1980. The event will
reacquaint new and existing generations with Terry’s example of athleticism, determination and self-sacrifice.
A team of twelve runners will start the marathon in St. John’s, NFLD on April 12th. Each participant will attempt to run 3,339 miles in 143 days – matching Terry’s daily mileage – arriving in Thunder Bay, ON on Labour Day weekend. Our camera crews will document the journey from the first day of training through to the end of the run, providing viewers with updates on the participants and their fundraising efforts.
Our first episode, to air in April on CBC, will see the introduction of the participants and the stakes set for the run. Terry’s enduring and
building legacy will be highlighted. We are working in conjunction with the Terry Fox Foundation, who in the past have declined proposals where the intent is to symbolically or literally finish the Marathon of Hope. This concept does not infringe on that wish.
If you are interested in participating in, or supporting, this initiative — we want to hear from you. We welcome any questions at any
time along the way.
An ideal candidate would possess the following:
1) They have been inspired by Terry’s story and have a history of supporting Terry’s vision and principles
2) They have the ability and willingness to fundraise
3) They believe and offer evidence that they are capable of physically attempting the run
4) They are willing and able to put aside work/other commitments for 4 and a half months to document their personal journey.
Do you have what it takes to go the distance?
If you would like to participate as a runner in this historic event, please reply to marathonofhope2009@gmail.com , sending us your contact information and telling us why you are the ideal candidate for the show.
In addition, we ask that you please create a 3-5 minute video so we can see you in action. Your video should include: Your name, age, hometown and why you want to be a participant in the Marathon of Hope 2009. Please upload your video to YouTube.
Everyone needs to be re-motivated from time to time.
As an entrepreneur I am motivated about growing my business.
As a life long learner I am motivated about learning new concepts.
As a creative thinker I am motivated about discovering new ideas.
As a motivational business speaker I am motivated by delivering my presentations and the feedback to them.
As a business author and writer I am motivated by publishing my articles and the occasional comments.
As a professional speaker I am motivated by attending the convention of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers. I just returned from the annual CAPS convention. I’m recharged and eargerly preparing for 2009. I know that it will be a challenging and rewarding year.
HAPPEN is a non profit organization that helps job seekers find and land their next job.
I delivered a motivational and instructional presentation to HAPPEN group today. I speak to HAPPEN once or twice a year and I have been doing this for close to a decade. Why?
I consider this as part of my community service. I don’t get paid for this annual gig but I’m happy to do it. I am told and I believe that my practical and motivational message helps them.
I suffered the pain of job loss and frustration of job search early in my career in the downturn of the early eighties. That pain and frustration is a big part of my success today. I want to ease their pain – or at least tell them that the pain can be endured. As a marathon runner, I know about enduring both physical and mental pain.
Every person’s pain is individual. No one can claim to understand “your” pain. However they might have felt something similar.
As I spoke today, two very different people caught my attention – one a recent college male graduate and the other a well dressed 40-something woman.
Both took no notes. Both failed to engage with me when I looked directly at them. One conveyed a “I don’t need this crap” body posture and the other glared, ” leave me alone”.
I felt sad for both of them. They had an opportunity to learn and to be inspired – but they refused to partake. Perhaps they had not yet matured in their grieving process to be ready to grow. Perhaps they were still wallowing in “Why me?” I don’t know their pain. I only offered a way forward. It was up to them to accept or decline.
While speaking to a high school business class this week I was surprised by this question, “If you work all your life on something and still fail – was it worth it?”
I responded quickly to this question, “Yes.”
I did not clairify my answer at that time. I have since thought about the question and my answer.
I believe that if a person works on a direction all their life that they will be successful. They might not achieve 100% success. But they will be successful in moving towards that goal. For example, a person might work to cure cancer and never reach that during their lifetime. Was their life a success? Yes. Because of the movement they would have made in that direction. Some goals take more than one lifetime to achieve. And the success would never happen without someone dedicating their life to moving things forward.
Have you noticed how motivated you can be when you have a deadline?
Why is that?. A deadline indicates a recognized shortage of time. A stated shortage of time reminds us that we only have a limited amount of time. If you tell someone, “Take all the time that you want.” They won’t be highly motivated to tackle the obstacle. If you have forever to do something – why do it now?
My neighbour is dieing from cancer. He seems to be fading quickly. Considering how active and spry he had been it is upsetting to witness how frail he now looks.
He has a deadline – as do those around him. The end date is not known for sure but it is clearly measured in months and not year. It’s interesting to note the many visitors that have stopped by in the past couple months. It good to see them visit. I guess they only needed to be motivated.
What would you do if you thought that you were running out of time?
When you are on a roll you tend to be more successful.
Why is that?
When you are successful it is likely that you are doing the right things. And when you are rewarded with success you will tend to continue doing the right things. If what you are doing is working you will probably stick with it. Does that make sense?
If you are doing something that leads to success you will most likely continue to do that. Its not all that complicated. They teach rats and pigeons to push buttons for food and when they discover the magic button the rats and pigeons keeping pushing the same button.
Success breeds success.
And if you discover the magic button and remember to push it you are at least as smart as a rat or pigeon. Do you feel insulted by that comparison? Think about the people who are dumber then rats and pigeons. They fail to notice the results of pushing the right button.
Smart people are willing to learn from whatever or whoever is teaching the lesson whether it is a rat or a pigeon. Dumb people think, “It is only a rat. What can it teach me?” Smart people always look for the lesson. Dumb people judge the teacher and miss the lesson.
When you are successful you tend to be more optimistic. Success makes you feel more righteous, more confident and more valuable. Therefore you will present yourself with more confidence and confidence sells. Confidence assures your prospects that you believe in what you sell. Desperation is a deal killer.
A little bit of arrogance makes your prospects wonder if they are missing out on a good thing. Repeat – “a little bit”.
Success breeds success.
Successful people associate with successful people.
Niagara Falls is one of my favorite places. Yet, when I woke up this morning in the Sheraton Hotel in Niagara Falls I was reluctant to go for my planned run. After the “first night of lousy sleep” in the hotel I was still tired when my 6:00 am alarm buzzed me awake.
After laying in bed for another 20 minutues I finally dragged myself out of bed and dressed for running – but not enthused.
A morning run always motivates me – espeically one in another city. I treasure my morning runs in cities across North America.
Three other things triggered my motivation this morning:
1. Running alongside the Niagara River and the Niagara Falls was awe inspiring.
2. There was a refreshing mist in the air.
3. As I approached a young couple near the falls the girl stoped me and gushed as she asked me to take their picture because “He just proposed to me.”
All this and I found myself both smiling and taking larger and swifter strides as I ran back to the hotel.
I’m glad that I got out of bed early this morning. Imagine what I would have missed.
Sometimes we are too mired in the detail and daily grind. We might even feel hopeless because of how bad things appear. We might just need to back-up – to diverge in our thinking and look at the big picture.
One way to diverge in your thinking is to ask the question “Why?” – Why are we doing this? Why is this important? Why does this work this way?
I think it is impossible to watch the Olympic Games and not feel motivated. I always feel stirred by watching the events. It’s very different from watching a professional baseball, football or basketball game. I find it difficult to relate to a professional multimillionaire sports star. I find it much easier to relate to an amateur althelte competing on behalf of their country.
I watch professional sports for entertainment. I watch the Olympic Games for motivation – for hope.
There are enough different events that something will resonate with you. I enjoy the fluidity of gymnastics, the mano a mano of boxing, and the splash of swimming. ( I was a high school water polo player.)
The best athletes in the world are competing. They worked their butts off to qualify. They are bursting with pride to represent their country. Only one gets the gold in each event yet all who compete are winners. (That’s am important motivational lesson in itself.)
The Olympic Games takes place once every four years. If you want motivation – watch the Olympic Games – not all of it – that would simply make you a couch potato. Instead focus on the sports that interest you. Observe the efforts, skills and sportmanship of the contestants. Admire the best that you see in people. Ignore the scandals, politics and misunderstandings.
Consider the motivation required by each Olympic Athelete. Then re-examine the motivational challenges in your life to get you to the next step.
"Follow the path of the unsafe, independent thinker. Expose your ideas to the dangers of controversy. Speak your mind and fear less the label of 'crackpot' than the stigma of conformity. And on issues that seem important to you, stand up and be counted at any cost."
Polish Up Your Public Speaking Skills in Advance!By Patricia Fripp, CSP, CPAE It's no secret—the higher up the corporate ladder you go, the more important your public speaking skills become. If you have your sights set on increased responsibility and the job title and salary that go with them, you will need to position yourself ahead of the crowd—in adv […]
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