Newsletter For May 2006:
Focus On The Generalities
Contents:
- This Months Thought
- Focus On the Generalities
- Quotes of the Month
- Strictly Business: The Value of Technology
- Humor: Letter from Camp
This Months Thought
Be the BEST! Carve out a niche and dominate it! That is great advice and it is important, just don't confuse success in one area of life with living a GREAT life. Balance and harmony, fun and joy are the keys. Go for the generalities. Go for quality. Demand more than just "success!" You deserve a GREAT life! Settle for nothing less.
Focus On the Generalities
This week I've been reminded that the key to peak performance is specialization and focus. I have long admired Lance Armstrong, and watching him dominate the Tour de France is an absolute inspiration! THAT is what happens when you do one thing and do it better than anyone else in the world!
I often write that focus is the key to success. Whether in athletics or business or our personal relationships, "what we focus on expands." We "become what we think about most of the time." To predict your future, notice how you spend your time, notice what you read, what you talk about and think about all day long.
To achieve superior results, get very, very good at one thing! Practice and innovate and specialize until you are the BEST! When you are the BEST, people notice. When you are the BEST, your reputation grows, business comes your way, doors open, and nice things happen.
But at what cost?
While it is true that dominating your niche brings success in many areas of life, we all know the high cost of a narrow life.
Who wants to be a "one trick pony?" Even if you do a great trick, oing one thing over and over is boring! We all know people who achieve extraordinary success in one area of life, but starve themselves in other areas. Think of successful people whose personal lives are a mess, or the "Type A" personality who achieves great things but has a heart attack an early age.
I have heard people who speak publicly state that it’s important to create a “hallmark” presentation, a perfect speech where they can use every pause and punch-line for maximum impact. It’s great advice. It has helped many people develop speaking careers and I’m sure it opens doors and makes them good money.
I have begun speaking to small groups and associations and I have already determined that I would get bored doing the same speech over and over again. So I customize my presentations for each specific audience and I develop my material based on personal experiences. That means I may not be as polished, but my speeches are personal and each one is new.
I believe the "good life" is about balancing these twin dynamics of specialization (focus) and having broad variety in our personal and professional activities.
We MUST be extremely good at what we do. The marketplace demands superior results and only pays above average wages for well-above-average performance. If you want to earn more money, get GOOD at what you do!
But, if you want to live a richer life, make sure you have broad and well-developed personal habits. At a minimum, consider these five areas:
- Health and wellness, diet and sleep. Take care of your body. If you don't, I promise life will be less fun!
- Personal relationships. Spend time with your loved ones. Go to dinner, play games, laugh, talk, argue and be real with the people in your life.
- Spirituality and purpose. Pause to give thanks, to acknowledge the power and beauty and mystery of life. Meditate or keep a journal. Nourish your soul.
- Personal development. Read and learn, take classes, start a new hobby. Always be a "beginner" at something so you keep expanding your world.
- Your finances. Manage money well. Live below your means and save the difference. Invest wisely. Treat money with respect and make it your friend and your servant.
And about that career and professional growth stuff – focus on that, also! Be the BEST! Carve out a niche and dominate it! That is great advice and it is important, just don't confuse success in one area of life with living a GREAT life. Balance and harmony, fun and joy are the keys. Go for the generalities. Go for quality. Demand more than just "success!" You deserve a GREAT life! Settle for nothing less.
Quotes of the Month
"I want to do it because I want to do it." -- Amelia Earhart
"Everything's in the mind. That's where it all starts. Knowing what you want is the first step toward getting it." -- Mae West
"You don't get to choose how you're going to die, or when. You can only decide how you're going to live. Now." -- Joan Baez
"Reach high, for stars lie hidden in your soul. Dream deep, for every dream precedes the goal." -- Pamela Vaull Starr
Strictly Business: The Value of Technology
This past month I read an article about a hospital that went through the trauma of adopting an entirely new level of technology.
Every nurse and most other employees were given laptop computers. All mass communications and memos are now done via email. All patient records are computerized, all doctor's orders are typed. As you can imagine, there was tremendous resistance, and the cost of equipment and training was enormous. And yet, the cost of the investment has been re-captured almost instantly!
Productivity is up. There are new feelings of competence, new avenues of communication and clarity. Errors and the frustrations of trying to read messy handwriting are way down.
My point? The "cost" of investing in new technology almost always pays for itself in less than 30 days. As a rule, expanded technology predictably creates vastly expanded opportunities. We gain new perspectives. New and bigger markets open up. New communities are formed, and new alliances, partnerships and joint- ventures materialize.
Recently I've watched several small businesses struggle with "out- sourcing" technology, from running their websites to managing their databases, and while contracting services can be a good idea, in these cases it was because the owners "didn't have time" or "weren't interested." And in every case, the long-term costs of refusing to learn at least the basics of new technology have had enormous costs.
Invest in appropriate technology and learn to use it to your advantage.
Humor: Letter From Camp
This week's humor is longer than usual, but it's a classic especially for anyone with children going to camp this summer. As you come across good (clean!) humor, please send it my way. I love collecting and sharing this stuff!
Dear Mom and Dad,
Our Scoutmaster told us to write in case you saw the flood on TV and are worried. We are okay. Only one of our tents and 2 sleeping bags got washed away. Luckily, none of us got drowned because we were all up on the mountain looking for Adam when it happened.
Oh yes, please call Adam's mother and tell her he is okay. He can't write because of the cast.
I got to ride in one of the search and rescue jeeps. It was neat. We never would have found Adam in the dark if it hadn't been for the lightning. Scoutmaster Keith got mad at Adam for going on a hike alone without telling anyone. Adam said he did tell him, but it was during the fire, so he probably didn't hear him. Did you know that if you put gas on a fire, the gas will blow up? The wet wood didn't burn, but the tents did and also some of our clothes. Matthew is going to look weird until his hair grows back.
We will be home on Saturday if Scoutmaster Keith gets the bus fixed. It wasn't his fault about the wreck. The brakes worked okay when we left.
Scoutmaster Keith said that with a bus that old you have to expect something to break down; that's probably why he can't get insurance. We think it's a neat bus. He doesn't care if we get it dirty, and if it's hot, sometimes he lets us ride on the fenders. It gets pretty hot with 45 people in a bus.
He let us take turns riding in the trailer until the highway patrol officer stopped and talked to us.
This morning all of the guys were diving off the rocks and swimming out in the lake. Scoutmaster Keith wouldn't let me because I can't swim, and Adam was afraid he would sink because of his cast, so he let us take the canoe across the lake. It was great.
Scoutmaster Keith isn't crabby like some scoutmasters. He didn't even get mad about the life jackets.
Guess what? We have all passed our first aid merit badges. When Andrew dived into the lake and cut his arm, we got to see how a tourniquet works. Steven and I threw up, but Scoutmaster Keith said it was probably just food poisoning from the leftover chicken. He said they got sick that way with the food they ate in prison.
I'm so glad he got out and became our scoutmaster. He said he sure figured out how to get things done better while he was doing his time.
I have to go now. We are going to town to mail our letters and buy some more beer. Don't worry about anything. We are fine.
Love, Chris
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.
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