Newsletter for January 2006:
B-HAG - 10000 People This Year
Contents:
- This Months Thought
- B-HAG: 10,000 People This Year!
- Quotes of the Month
- Strictly Business: Systems Best Effort, Every Time!
- Humor: 21 Reasons Why English is Hard
This Months Thought
What huge, outrageous and absolutely wonderful goal do you have for this year? Yes, most goals should be logical, reasonable, and reachable, but I think the human spirit also wants to be challenged by the "impossible". We've climbed Mt Everest. We've gone to the moon. So, what's the next big thing in your life?
B-HAG: 10,000 People This Year!
This is the time of year most of us set our goals for the New Year. At the same time, many of us are sick and tired of hearing about goals, and have a slightly (or more than slightly!) cynical attitude towards the whole process.
That's understandable, but terribly short-sighted and unfortunate.
Setting goals is uniquely human. Only humans can consider the future, make choices, align our behavior, and move in the direction we wish. In all of nature, only we get to create our own lives! Let's not throw that away because of bad designs or past failures!
We can do better than that!
Effective goals have at least the following qualities in common:
- They are intentional and conscious.
- They are clearly defined and written down.
- They are realistic. We have a good chance of achieving them and that excites us.
- They are big enough to be interesting. They challenge and motivate us because there is some adventure to them.
- They match our values and we share them with others for their feedback and encouragement.
Building on Point 5, I want to share one of my goals for 2006 with you, and ask for your help in achieving it. But first, the "story behind the story".
In addition to the five points above, I think there's a sixth principle about highly effective goals. Once in a while, some of your goals should be outrageous, huge and "impossible"! Someone told me these goals are called "B-HAGS", and that stands for: Big Hairy Audacious Goals
So, I have a B-HAG for 2006: I want to reach, teach, influence, inspire or outrage 10,000 people this year!
And, I can't possibly do that on my own. Currently, “This Months Thought” goes to about 1,000 people, and while many of you pass it on to friends, I also know that in any given month many people never read it. So to reach my B-HAG, I'm going to need help in at least the following areas:
*** I want to increase the number of subscribers FIVE fold. Please pass “This Months Thought” along to at least five friends or colleagues and encourage them to sign up by going to: http://www.rodgerblaker.com/html/subscribe.html
*** I’m looking for experts to include specific information from them in my newsletters where I will bring you the best, most qualified and influential experts I can find! To reach 5,000 people, I will connect you with experts who have the information you need to achieve YOUR goals!
*** I plan to create seminars or audio program or ebook or other "goodies", some FREE and others for a fee, to reach 5,000 people this year.
*** I ask for your help in SPEAKING to more audiences. I spoke to about 1,000 people last year. I would like to at least 5 times as many people that this year! If you would like me to speak to your group or organization, send me an email at: rodger@rodgerblaker.com
*** I will be constantly looking for more ways to reach more people throughout the year. Maybe this is the year I will be a guest on a radio talk show.
Well, that's my B-HAG, 10,000 in 2006, and some of my ideas for achieving it. What's your B-HAG for 2006?
What huge, outrageous and absolutely wonderful goal do you have for this year? Yes, most goals should be logical, reasonable, and reachable, but I think the human spirit also wants to be challenged by the "impossible". We've climbed Mt Everest. We've gone to the moon. So, what's the next big thing in your life?
In addition to 10,000 people this year a few other goals I want to share with you because of their importance to me.
*** I plan to complete my requirements for Credentialing as a PCC (Professional Certified Coach) through the ICF (International Coaching Federation) certification program. http://www.coachfederation.org/eweb/
*** To better support my clients I will continue developing professionally by signing up for classes this fall at UTD Dallas School of Management – Executive & Professional Coaching Program. http://som.utdallas.edu/executive/coaching/index.htm
*** I’m committed for a second year to recruiting and leading a team of doctors, dentist, nurses and other support people to Brazil in September to bring aid, cloths, reading glasses and other care to villagers living along the Amazon River. http://www.amazonoutreach.com/
Quotes of the Month
With ordinary talent and extraordinary perseverance, all things are attainable. -- T.F. Buxton
To succeed, you need to find something to hold on to, something to motivate you, something to inspire you. -- Tony Dorsett
"The path to success is to take massive, determined action." -- Anthony Robbins
"We can do anything we want as long as we stick to it long enough." -- Helen Keller
Strictly Business: Systems Beat Effort, Every Time!
In business and in life, systems beat effort every time.
Most entrepreneurs confuse effort, activity and motion with progress. The key to making money, building a business and satisfying your customers is NOT frantic motion, but a few simple things done well.
Many of us have observed that the key to keeping our promises is to make fewer of them. In business, the same principle applies.
Well-run businesses rarely scramble or improvise. They have systems and plans for creating great products and delivering them at a fair price. Great companies understand their customers, sometimes even better than the customers know themselves! World-class companies do a few things, do them extremely well, and generate profits from their ability to impress (and keep!) their customers.
New or young entrepreneurs get caught by the lure of the "next big thing". They are impressed with innovation and can't wait to expand or grow, and they forget the basics of serving customers and developing life-long partnerships.
Take time to get organized. Set up automatic tracking and record- keeping systems. Stay in touch with your best customers and ask them for feedback about your company. Sam Walton used to say that his best ideas came from talking with stock-boys, check-out clerks and people on the loading docks. In Tom Peter's phrase, he "managed by walking around".
We can learn from that. Slow down and achieve more. Simplify. Focus. Do one thing, do it better than anyone in the world, and your fortune is assured.
Humor: 21 Reasons Why English is Hard
Thanks to the Internet and global commerce, English may be becoming the global language, but it's not without its short comings! We truly speak a strange tongue! Check out the following and see if you agree that they "certainly tell it like it is!"
- The bandage was wound around the wound.
- The farm was used to produce produce.
- The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
- We must polish the Polish furniture.
- He could lead if he would get the lead out.
- The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
- Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.
- A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.
- When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
- I did not object to the object.
- The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
- There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.
- They were too close to the door to close it.
- The buck does funny things when the does are present.
- A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
- To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
- The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
- After a number of injections my jaw got number.
- Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.
- I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
- How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?
Rodger Blaker works with executives, small business owners and professionals who want to grow in their business and create an extraordinary life! For info on resources for your success, visit: http://www.rodgerblaker.com or call me at 214-485-2238.
GIVE A GIFT TO A FRIEND! Please forward this copy to your friends and colleagues! That's how I grow!