Starting Your Engine to Reach Your Goals and Dreams

Goal setting is the fuel that flames your onward progress.  It enables you to achieve your dreams and achieve your resolutions.  Don't let your goals and resolutions fall by the wayside. Chances are that to accomplish your dreams and live a life you love, those goals and resolutions are crucial.  Goal setting and goal achievement are easier if you follow these 12 steps for effective and successful goal setting and resolution accomplishment.

1. Having a positive attitude about the future. A general sense of optimism about the future helps to believe you will achieve your goals.

2.  Formulate affirmative, long-term objectives.  “To stroke motivation and ambition, focus…on the road ahead.”

3.  Don’t set goals and objectives that conflict with each other or your world view.  The more congruent your goals and objectives are, the more likely you are to achieve them.

4.  Make specific goals on a monthly plan. If a delay arises one day, your plan is still intact.

5.  Focus on just one large goal at a time.  

6.  Precommit to success and don’t give yourself alternatives.  Speak into existence before it manifests itself.

7.  Use David Allen’s Getting Things Done system.  

8.  Work on your goal every day.  The daily habit of working towards a goal produces dependable, positive, long-term results.

9.  Set your goals publicly.  If other people know about it, it’s harder to dismiss.

10.  Help others.  

11.  Monitor your actions daily.  Keep track of your progress using a smartphone app, write a sentence or two in your journal, or update your progress on Twitter.  Be sure to review your entries so you can see how well you have progressed toward your goal.

12.  Give yourself relevant rewards for achieved milestones.  Set up milestones throughout the process and award yourself when you meet these milestones.

Goal setting is the foundation for personal and business success.  I am not someone who achieves every goal he sets; I struggle and procrastinate too.  But I have improved over the past few months.  I have realized that just thinking about a goal doesn't help you achieve it.  If you utilize the tips above, you will be on your way to both successfully setting goals and achieving them.

Until next time, BE INSPIRED!

Dr. Inspiration

Influence: Should We Lead by Focusing on the Head or the Heart?

What is influence, anyway?

The dictionary defines influence as the capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behavior of someone or something, or the effect itself. We all use influence with our kids, spouses/significant others, students, colleagues, employees, or customers. The question is when utilizing influence should we focus on the head or the heart of those we are trying to influence?

Both the head and the heart approach are both important; however to be most effective start by influencing the heart.  How can you do that?  Below are five strategies in using a heart approach:

1.  Validate feelings.  Before people decide what they think of your message, they decide what to think of you.  If you want those people above (customers, colleagues, etc) to listen and agree with you, you must first agree with them.  People will respect you for emphasizing with them which in turn will cause them to be more open to hearing what you have to say.

2.  Smile....and mean it!  Who would have thought something so simple would be something so powerful?   Feeling happy makes us smile, and smiling makes us happy.    It's also contagious.  Think about it...when you see someone smile, what happens?  You also smile! When we smile sincerely, that warmth is projected to others and projects back onto us. To project warmth however, you have to genuinely feel it.  

3.  Feel in command.  Warmth may be harder to fake, but confidence is harder to talk yourself into.  Feeling into command and confident is about connecting with yourself.

4.  Stand up straight.  It is hard to overstate the importance of good posture in projecting authority and an intention to be taken seriously.  It sounds trivial, but maximizing the physical space your body takes up makes a substantial difference in how your audience reacts to you, regardless of your height.

5.  Get ahold of yourself.  When you move, move deliberately and precisely to a specific spot.  Standing tall is an especially good way to project strength because it doesn't interfere with warmth in the way that other signals of strength do. 

These strategies may seem awkward but they will create a positive feedback with those you influence.  Once you establish warmth, your strength is received as a welcome reassurance.  Your ability to influence will then become a gift that not many possess.

Until next time, BE INSPIRED!

Dr. Inspiration

The #1 Secret to Engaging Others

The #1 Secret to Engaging Others!

Do you want to engage more customers?

Do you want to engage and make better connections with your colleagues and/or employees?

Do you want to engage more students?

Do you want a more engaging and motivated team?

(Start here to make the connection between this short video and the content of this edition)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JScQSBiPf4w&feature=player_embedded )

In his book A Whole New Mind, Daniel Pink describes two realtors looking to attract potential sellers.  One realtor sent out a post card touting the sale price of a recent home that he sold, which wasn’t much different than the price of other homes selling in the same area.  Another realtor sent out a post card to the same neighborhood, never mentioning a price, but stating:

“Florence S. and her husband bought this delightful home in 1955. They paid $20,000 in cash for it and loved the many special details like solid oak floors, large windows including many with leaded glass, oak millwork around the doors,…an Old English fireplace mantle, and a garden pond. At age 91, Florence moved to Brighton Gardens, a retirement community in Friendship Heights, and the Fernandez sisters, neighbors and old family friends, asked me to sell this jewel. …Now please take a minute to welcome Scott and Christie C. , the new residents who love the house just as much…”

(p.110)

Which realtor, do you think, had the greatest impact and significance on potential sellers?

Stories are compelling and memorable. Remember all of the stories that we heard from our parents and elders when were children. Even the exaggerated ones left an impact.  I can still remember my grandmother sharing stories about how she had to walk 50 miles to school one way, every day, while being chased by dogs, in the rain, dropping her lunch, jumping over fences, and in the midst of a tornados, while crossing rivers. Each time she told the story, there seemed to be a new trial or tribulation she had to face during that “morning walk” to school.  You remember the stories, right? Despite being larger-than life, they are and were significant and memorable.

The human brain has been predisposed prior to birth to think, make sense, and create meaning from narratives (Nelson, 2003). Moreover, kids grow up hearing stories, seeing stories, having stories read to them, and reading stories themselves. The power of exposure to story in these critical development years of the brain results in adults permanently hard-wired to think in terms of stories (Haven, 2007).

Pink (2005) points out that companies such as 3M, NASA, and Xerox provides its top executives with training in storytelling. Senior officials at World Bank found that when trying to get staff excited about change, storytelling was the only thing that worked to persuade preferred action. Even in the field of medicine, storytelling is starting to play a significant role in dealing with patient health. Columbia University Medical School, Penn State, and University of New Mexico are requiring students to learn how to listen and repeat the narratives of patients. The Journal of American Medical Association (2001) reported that, “A scientifically competent medicine alone cannot help a patient grapple with the loss of health or find meaning in suffering. …physicians need the ability to listen to the narratives of the patient, grasp and honor their meanings, and be moved to act on the patient’s behalf.”

Research has shown, that teachers who use storytelling in their curriculum and instruction have more engaged students, resulting in higher student performance and extended remembrance of content (Craig, 2001).

Stories are the key for individuals and organizations to differentiate their goods and services in a crowded marketplace. Being able to provide information through story form is vitally important. Stories connect with receivers and are far more memorable than any other method of communication. Stories more readily grab and maintain the attention of listeners/readers. Stories are recalled better and longer than information delivered in any other way. Using stories enhances memory and facilitates information recall (Haven, 2007).  

Stories, when used effectively, can be one of the most powerful sales tools in your tool box. The vast majority of people make purchasing decisions based on emotions and later, back their decisions based upon data. Whether you are selling a product, a service, or an idea, speaking to a prospect's emotions through stories will increase your connection to them and ultimately increase sales.

After all, it is the storyline that makes great movies and music.

An ancient saying goes, “You can never hate someone once you know their story.” When we don’t know the story of another, our brain fills in the gap by making up its own story.

If you want to engage others, your ability to share stories will be key.

Tips for increasing your ability to share stories:

1.     Become mindful of your attention level as others began to share stories with you.

2.     Begin incorporating short stories in conversations with friends and families. Kids hate this- but share those great, childhood stories regardless. I usually get the, “Dad, here you go again…” comment or look when I tell my stories to my kids. Keep sharing the stories because they will become reference points for kids later on in life.

3.     Begin to insert 1 to 2 relevant and compelling stories when trying to influence or persuade groups/students in the work place.

4.     Continually be on the hunt and collect in memory and on paper great stories. 

What stories are you sharing in your organization and at home? Let me know!

Check this out:

Do you want some motivation? See my new video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RJUwCSkxPU&feature=youtu.be

You don’t want to miss it! Spots for the “Secrets to Motivating Students/Youth workshop are filling up fast- be sure to reserve your spot and register today (click here http://www.tawatson.com/news.php ).

Finally, I would like to send my condolences to all of those around the nation who were impacted by the recent shooting in my home state of Colorado. You are in my prayers.

Secrets to Bouncing Back from Failure

Secrets to Bouncing Back from Failure: Converting Failure Into Success

Welcome to America’s Home for Inspiration

One of the most common causes of failure is the behavior of quitting when one is hit with temporary defeat.  In fact Thomas Edison declared that, “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”

After growing Apple to a 2 billion dollar business with 4000 employees, Steve Jobs was fired from the same company that he started. In his speech in 2005 to the graduating class at Stanford University he shared, “We had just released our finest creation-the Macintosh- a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating. I was a very public failure, and I even thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me — I still loved what I did. . I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over. I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me.”

Steve Jobs went on to tell how getting fired from Apple allowed him to rekindle his creative energy. His newly created company Pixar would go on to create the most successful animated movie in the world, Toy Story.  Apple would later purchase his other company NeXT. The technology he developed with NeXT would become the launching pad for Apple’s current success. ”I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith.”

After being fired my job, I can certainly relate to the disappointment that Jobs felt. However, I knew that I could not give up or quit.

So, what are the secrets that kept Steve Jobs and many others who have experienced failure to keep going?

1.     Faith-Is complete trust and confidence in something or someone (Webster).  Research has shown that a person comes to believe whatever they repeat over and over to one’s self, whether the statement is true or false. Faith is the head chemist of the mind. “Faith is the element, the ‘chemical’ which, when mixed with prayer, gives one direct communication with Infinite Intelligence.” Napoleon Hill . Hill goes on to share a poem about our thinking in his book, Think and Grow Rich:

If you think you are beaten, you are.

If you think you dare not, you don’t.

If you like to win, but you think you can’t,

It is almost certain you won’t.

If you think you’ll lose, you’re lost.

For out in the world we find,

Success begins with a fellow’s will-

It’s all in the state of mind

If you think you are outclassed, you are,

You’ve got to think high to rise,

You’ve got to be sure of yourself before

You can ever win a prize.

Life’s battles don’t always go

To the stronger or faster,

But sooner or later the man who wins

Is the man who thinks he can!

In fact research shows that patients who felt they would get better and spoke of the outcome, healed faster than those who did not (McAdams, 2005).

2.     Desire- A strong feeling of wanting to have something or wishing for something to happen (Webster). Desire has been characterized as the starting point to any achievement. Jim Collins in his bestseller, Good to Great points out that there is no Plan B for success. “You see the boats going up in smoke. That means that we cannot leave these shores alive unless we win! We now have no choice –we win or we perish!” were the words of a great warrior who had just sailed into enemy country with his troops that were out numbered.

            Every person who yearns to succeed at something must be willing to burn their ship and cut off sources for retreat. In doing this, one maintains a state of mind known as a burning desire to succeed. I can remember resigning from a couple of jobs with nothing in place, as a strategy to get myself going after the next position that I really wanted. Staying put in a place of contentment was not an option giving the fact that the bridge behind me was now burning. There was no going back.    

3.     Persistence- Firm or obstinate continuance in a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition (Webster). A lack of persistence is one of the top reasons for failure. One must be persistent no matter how slow at first because in doing so one will accomplish their desires. Barriers that get in the way of persistence: procrastination, indecision, blaming others, quitting at first sign of challenge, and fear of what others will think if one experiences temporary failure.

Remember, failure turns to defeat only when you give up. Don’t be give up, keep fighting for your dreams, desires, and passion.

“I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.”

Thomas Edison

Do you agree or disagree with these three strategies? Let me know what strategies you have used in bouncing back from failure.