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.

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.

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.

 

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?

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.

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

Seek Success not Perfection

You will never be perfect. So, don’t chase perfection. Instead seek success.

Confidence: Did you see it?

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.

George Torok

Motivational Business Speaker

Do your friends motivate you or depress you?

You pick your friends. You choose them and you can fire or retire them.

There’s an old expression that says, “You can judge a person by their friends.”

If your friends are thieves – most likely you are one too.

If your friends are successful – most likely you are too.

If you want to be more successful, associate with successful people.

If you want to feel more motivated, associate with motivated people.

If you want to feel good about life and yourself associate with people who feel terrific about life and themselves.

If you want to feel energized, associate with energizing people.

If you want to be smarter, associate with people who make you think.

If want to take charge of your life, associate with people who take responsibility for themselves.

If you prefer to whine and complain – associate with whiners and complainers.

We tend to pick our friends because we are like them or we want to be like them.

Are your choices of friends working for you or against you?

It’s your choice.

George Torok

Who Owes You?

Do you have a list (mental or written) of people who owe you?

When something good happened did you respond with “That’s about time.”?

Do you have hopes and dreams that depend on someone else doing things?

When asked about the status of your current project do you respond with, “I’m waiting to hear back from…”?

Are you waiting for your phone to ring?

Do you believe that the world owes you one?

If you answered yes to any of the above then you have a problem – and no one can help you except you.

The first thing that you need to accept is that no one owes you anything. No government, company, organization, friend or family member owes you anything.

The only one who owes you is you.

You owe yourself to get off your duff and do something to get what you want. And when it doesn’t work the first few times, you owe yourself to try again – and again – until you get what you want.

Who owes you? Only you!

George Torok

Motivational Business Speaker

Don’t Accept The Posion

Would you willingly ingest poison? Probably not.

Yet maybe we drink poison more often than we think we do.

I was hunting for a spot in the parking lot. Suddenly a car appeared from a lane to make a left turn across my path. The driver was looking the other way. I braked and gently tapped my horn to warn her. She stopped and looked at me in surprise. Even though I had the right of way I couldn’t proceed because her car was blocking my path so I waved her through. I shook my head in displeasure.

To my surprise and annoyance she stuck her left arm out of her car and gave me the finger as she completed her turn.

I felt angry and abused.

However, I was about to meet with a prospective client so I deleted the poison of this incident from my mind.

There was no win in holding on to this poison.

George Torok

Muhammad Ali – the Greatest!

A man who views the world the same at fifty as he did at twenty has wasted thirty years of his life.
Muhammad Ali

A rooster crows only when it sees the light. Put him in the dark and he’ll never crow. I have seen the light and I’m crowing.
Muhammad Ali

Age is whatever you think it is. You are as old as you think you are.
Muhammad Ali

At home I am a nice guy: but I don’t want the world to know. Humble people, I’ve found, don’t get very far.
Muhammad Ali

Boxing is a lot of white men watching two black men beat each other up.
Muhammad Ali

Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.
Muhammad Ali

Frazier is so ugly that he should donate his face to the US Bureau of Wild Life.
Muhammad Ali

Friendship… is not something you learn in school. But if you haven’t learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven’t learned anything.
Muhammad Ali

Hating people because of their color is wrong. And it doesn’t matter which color does the hating. It’s just plain wrong.
Muhammad Ali

He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.
Muhammad Ali

I am the astronaut of boxing. Joe Louis and Dempsey were just jet pilots. I’m in a world of my own.
Muhammad Ali

I am the greatest, I said that even before I knew I was.
Muhammad Ali

I figure I’ll be champ for about ten years and then I’ll let my brother take over – like the Kennedys down in Washington.
Muhammad Ali

I figured that if I said it enough, I would convince the world that I really was the greatest.
Muhammad Ali

I hated every minute of training, but I said, “Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.”
Muhammad Ali

I know I got it made while the masses of black people are catchin’ hell, but as long as they ain’t free, I ain’t free.
Muhammad Ali

I know where I’m going and I know the truth, and I don’t have to be what you want me to be. I’m free to be what I want.
Muhammad Ali

I never thought of losing, but now that it’ s happened, the only thing is to do it right. That’s my obligation to all the people who believe in me. We all have to take defeats in life.
Muhammad Ali

I wish people would love everybody else the way they love me. It would be a better world.
Muhammad Ali

George Torok
Motivational Speaker

Confidence the root of success

I believe that we all battle with diminshed confidence from time to time. I know that I do.

These thoughts are for me as much as you.

Success does not preceed confidence. Self confidence is the seed of success.

Nothing that you buy or own can give you confidence. You grant yourself permission to be confident.

You have all the confidence that you need inside of you. You must give yourself permission to let it out.

To look & feel more confident, focus on your strengths. Your strengths define you more than your weaknessess.

Look confident and others believe you to be more successful.

To feel more confident – smile more.

Confidence means taking responsibilty for what you can do and accepting the randomness of what you don’t control.

Confidence is the ability to look good when you don’t feel good.

George Torok

Motivational Business Speaker

Canadian Motivational Speaker

What is the Secret of Success?

What is the secret for success?

That is a a question that I have asked often. Of myself, of the hundreds of guests that I have interviewed on my weekly radio show, Business in Motion and of the universe.

This is what I have learned about the secret to success.

Success comes from doing little things, consistently well, over time.

There are three important parts to that formula:

Little Things
It’s the little things that make or break you. It’s not about the lucky break or the big idea.

Consistently Well
You don’t need to be perfect or give 100%. And let’s be realistic, 110% is mathematically imposssible. You only need to be consistently well – as compared to the competition.

Over Time
This is likely the part that defeats most people. It’s not about having a good day. It’s about doing it every day for a long time. How long? Until you get where you want to be. Many overnight successes took many years.

Want to be successful?

Do little things, consistently well, over time.

George Torok

Canadian Motivational Speaker

Motivational Business Speaker