My #1 robber is called "I don't feel like it"

I suspect procrastination robs most of us of more than we’ll ever know. My number 1 robber is called “I don’t feel like it.” 

How much is procrastination robbing you and what’s their names?

Take this assessment and find out -

Indicate the degree to which YOU agree with the statement by entering the number that best describes you;        

3 = Usually     2 = Sometimes    1 = Rarely

_____ I work best when I am under pressure because of a tight deadline.

_____ I tend to put off starting a task which seems complex 

_____ I can't get done what I need due to distractions.

“I work out every day Danny, I just miss some days.”

“I work out every day Danny, I just miss some days.”

That’s what my friend Brian Wood told me when I asked him how often he worked out.

Me too. And I meet people and follow-up with people every day, I just miss some days. I get out-of-sync with my days and things I should be doing. A LOT. The here kitty kitty thing drives me nuts, but it’s the way I am I guess and I’ve learned to just RE-START as often as I need to.

There are things I have on my Daily Work Stuff list. Things I MUST do at this point in my life. 

Here they are, the daily stuff, not weekly or monthly, but just DAILY –

- Read

 - Write

 - Listen (training input)

 - Meet new people (more than 1)

 - Call someone that barely knows me

- Follow-Up with people

- Have a sales conversation with 1 person

I don’t get that done every day but I do keep trying to put more and more of the days together in a row where I have done all of these Dailies.

What are your DAILIES?

Nobody buys anything on an elevator....Seth Godin

“One, Two, Three…Three Man Movers. Tom Britton with Three Men Movers.”

That’s how Tom Britton with Three Men Movers gives his 10 second introduction in a networking meeting.

If it’s a 30 second intro he’ll sometimes blow a whistle and add “give us a call.”

In a 45-60 second, Tom will input something like “we moved 30 thousand Texas last year" before he blows the whistle.

Real simple. Nothing fancy. Just a slow, very purposeful marketing message. When you hear someone like that, pay attention, studying them, watch what else they do, 
- how they show up to meetings
- how they show up online
- how they handle themselves
- how they're dressed.

Notice what ALL makes them standout.

Pick up the phone, by Darren Hardy

Running the numbers

How much do you think it comes down to the numbers? Not just "know" or just being aware, but really thinking into the results of the numbers.  

Running the numbers.

I know, it's not ALL about the numbers. It is about how you get the numbers. But it is about the numbers because you need the numbers to get to the results you want.

Right? Right. Argue with me, but don’t reject me until you’ve worked yourself through the process. Don't reject me until you understand what I'm talking about here. I know it’s also about how we get the numbers. But if we aren’t thinking into the results…..purposeful thinking into our results…results we’re getting and results we want…if we aren’t thinking into the results really well, we tend to forget about the numbers and just go through the motions.

What's Best Next: How The Gospel Transforms How You Get Things Done

This might be the best book on the Theology of Work I've read yet...here's an insert from the What's Best Next blog -

If You Only take 5 Productivity Practices Away from This Book

Learning and especially implementing productivity practices can be hard. It is easy to forget what we learned or forget how to apply it. One remedy is to keep coming back to this book (of course!). But to make this as simple as possible, if you can only take away 5 things from this book, they should be these: 
 
Foundation: Look to God, in Jesus Christ, for your purpose, security, and guidance in all of life.

Purpose: Give your whole self to God (Romans 12:1-2), and then live for the good of others to his glory to show that he is great in the world.
I've read the book twice and will continue to gain nuggets for a long time to come.

Guiding Principle: Love your neighbor as yourself. Treat others the way you want them to treat you. Be proactive in this and even make plans to do good.

Core Strategy: Know what’s most important and put it first.

Core Tactic: Plan your week, every week! Then, as things come up throughout the day, ask “is this what’s best next?” Then, either do that right away or, if you can’t, slot it in to your calendar or action list that you are confident you will refer back to at the right time.


To that end......

Perception: Reality or Relative?

A friend and client called me yesterday about a problem he was having and wanted my perspective. 

In his telling of the problem, he called it a challenge, he mentioned how unhappy he was with his and another person’s attitude during a sales conversation.

I asked him what he was comparing that emotion of happiness to, to which there was a long pause.
I’ll call him John. John, after the pause, replied “I’m really asking for help here and I don’t appreciate you turning this back on me by getting philosophical.” To which I replied, “John, I’m asking this question so I can understand what’s causing your unhappiness because, right now, I don’t get it and if I don’t get it I can’t give you any advice.”

Our discussion continued for another 20 minutes or so discussing what he was comparing his unhappiness to and in the end, he had a different perception of the matter…his unhappiness.

Perception.

I used to believe “perception is reality.” But it’s not; perception is relative.

Your perception is relative to what you’re comparing it to.
 
I asked Cathy one time if she’d consider going to Russia on a missions trip and she emphatically said NO.

The conversation then went something link this….

“But what if you did?”

“I don’t.”

But what if you did?”

I don’t.”

We continued on through that for a few more minutes but I didn’t get anywhere with her. She’d been through this before and she knew that if she started thinking about what it would be like “if she did,” then her feelings could change!

Perception - is – RELATIVE.

What are you not wanting to do?

What if you did want to do it? How would that feel? What would you do?

How would it feel to do it?

To that end...

Change. If it was easy, everyone would do it.

He who rejects change is the architect 

of decay. The only human institution which 

rejects progress is the cemetery.  ~ Harold Wilson

I don't care who you are, change is hard.

It doesn't matter if you're trying to change, or having to changing. It's hard.

Whether you need to change, trying to change or having to change. It's hard.

If you say it's not, I'll say, as my brother Randy is fond of saying "you lie to your friends and I'll lie to mine, but let's not lie to each other."

Embrace the fact that change is hard and you'll be better prepared to handle the tasks it will take to change.

Because it's hard.

To that end....start and finish 2015 STRONG.

And it'll be hard.

But that's ok. It's supposed to be.

Not just 2015, but 2014, 20 and 40.

What VISION do you have for your business, your life? Do you have them tied together?

Reflecting on 2014, I ask "how did that match up with my dream (vision) I have for the rest of my life?

Taking pages from three favorite sources (Michael Gerber, John Maxwell and Michael Hyatt), I think about how I want my life to look like in 25 years.....

Right now...think into that for a minute...before you move on. Were your 2014 goals a reflection of your 2040 dream/vision?

How do your goals for 2015 reflect forward into 2020? 2040? I'll be 85 years old in 2040 and I'm really paying attention to what I'm doing today and tomorrow and in 2015 to insure, with God's blessings, that my 2040 is some version of today's dream.

In "Put Your Dreams to the Test," Maxwell shares Hyatt's vision for Thomas Nelson books (back when Hyatt was the division leader). Here's part of that vision statement -

A baby's hug

A story from an unknown author -

"We were the only family with children in the restaurant.

I sat Erik in a high chair and noticed everyone was quietly sitting and talking. Suddenly, Erik squealed with glee and said, 'Hi.' He pounded his fat baby hands on the high chair tray. His eyes were crinkled in laughter.

And his mouth was bared in a toothless grin, as he wriggled and giggled with merriment.