Newsletter for November 2003:
Why Not Expect The BEST!
Contents:
This Months Thought
Your life is at least as important as a holiday party, so put time and effort into designing the life you really want. Your life is a work of art, it's the thing you get to develop with all your heart and soul and talent and skill, so do it right. Put some thought into it. Develop a written plan, then work your plan. Make 2004 your best year ever!
Why Not Expect The BEST!
We have all heard that "we become what we think about most", and that in the long run, we usually do get what we expect in life.
We know that these familiar sayings are true and that they make a powerful difference in achieving our goals. We know that when a child focuses on a new toy, talks about it all the time, shows their parents pictures of it, points it out at the store and writes a letter to Santa Claus about it, the chances that they will eventually get the toy expand dramatically. Every kid knows this.
So why don't adults follow the same principles?
Consider that those of you who receive my news letter will spend hours planning and organizing your Thanksgiving holiday. We will be on the phone with relatives. We'll debate the menu and decide who brings the deserts and who will slice the turkey. We'll shop and clean house, we'll make travel arrangements and coordinate schedules so dinner won't interrupt a critical football game. Thanksgiving is important, and we plan accordingly.
Then, right after Thanksgiving, we'll do it all over again for Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas and New Year's. We'll debate whether to fly or drive to the Grandparents, we'll budget for gifts and plan parties. In a few short weeks, thousands of folks will invest millions of hours planning holidays that arrive every year, on schedule and without surprise.
In comparison, how many hours do you spend designing the life you really want?
We all know that successful people set goals, develop plans, then follow their plans to success. We know this.
No one thinks Olympic athletes win medals by accident. No one believes politicians get nominated and elected by coincidence, and no one believes Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey or Steven Spielberg got where they are by "luck". We know better than that!
This week, take time to consider where you're going in life. Over the holidays, take some time off, find a library, beach, coffee shop or kitchen table and do the hard work of deciding what you really want next year.
Here are some specifics:
- Get a large one year 2004 calendar. Make sure it's big enough to write on. You'll need it to set priorities and make realistic plans.
- Get a notebook. Any schoolbook will do, but use paper and pen, jot notes and think on paper.
- List at least 100 things you want to do, see, have, achieve or become in the new year. List it ALL – from saving money to losing weight to starting a business and planning your vacations. Write it all down.
- Ask the important people in your life to review the list and help you sort it out.
- Pick your top 10 priorities and create a written plan to achieve them. Schedule dates and budget time and money. Put them on the calendar and make them happen.
Your life is at least as important as a holiday party, so put time and effort into designing the life you really want. Your life is a work of art, it's the thing you get to develop with all your heart and soul and talent and skill, so do it right. Put some thought into it. Develop a written plan, then work your plan. Make 2004 your best year ever!
Quotes of the Month
"The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather in a lack of will." -- Vincent Lombardi
"The starting point of all achievement is desire. Keep this constantly in mind. Weak desire brings weak results, just as a small amount of fire makes a small amount of heat." -- Napoleon Hill
"My success just evolved from working hard at the business at hand each day." -- Johnny Carson
"It is our duty as men and women to proceed as though the limits to our abilities do not exist." -- Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
Strictly Business: To Get Rich, Serve Your Customers
This week I heard a cute story about a golf instructor who asked a student what the basic, fundamental purpose of the game was. The student replied, "To enjoy a great sport?" No. "To enjoy the company of friends and play well?" No, no, no!
The instructor replied, "The point is to get the little white ball in the hole as efficiently as possible!"
Sometimes in business we forget the most basic fundamentals. I've heard business people argue about the basic purpose of being in business. Some say it's to make a profit, because unless there is a profit, the business will eventually cease to function. Others say the point is to provide a valuable service or a great product.
In my opinion there is only ONE reason for any business to exist, and that is to serve the needs of it's customers. Of course, as a practical matter, you must make a profit, you must operate legally and ethically, and provide value. But in the end, the only real measure of a business is whether or not it serves it's customers well.
If you serve the needs and desires of your customers, they will do business with you, and that will allow all those other things, like profits, to happen. If you fail to serve your customers well, in the long run nothing else matters.
In the end, the customer IS always right. The customer is the boss. The customer is the final inspector, the final supervisor, the absolute "owner" and manager of the business and their opinions come first. Successful businesses from Walmart to Home Depot to IBM, to your local hair dresser all understand this.
Know your customer. Understand their needs, their desires, even their preferences, and serve your customer. It's the key to success.
Humor: Amazing Childhood Survival Stories
I found the following some where and I thought Thanksgiving is a great time to ponder these things. If you were a child in the 60's or the 70's, (or in the 40's and 50's) looking back, it's hard to believe that we survived as long as we have!
- As children, we rode in cars with no seat belts or air bags.
- Riding in the back of a pickup truck on a warm day was always a special treat.
- Our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paint.
- We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors, or cabinets, and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets.
- We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle. (Horrors!)
- We spent hours building go-carts out of scraps and then rode down the hill, only to find we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times we learned to solve the problem.
- We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.
- No one was able to reach us all day. No cell phones. Unthinkable.
- We played dodgeball and sometimes the ball would really hurt.
- We got cut and hurt and even broke teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents. They were accidents. No one was to blame but us. Remember accidents?
- We had fights and punched each other and got black and blue and learned to get over it.
- We ate cupcakes, bread and butter, and drank sugar soda but we were never overweight because we were always outside playing.
- We shared grape soda with four friends, from one bottle and no one died from this?
- Instead of "play dates", we had friends. We went outside and found them. We rode bikes or walked to a kid's home and knocked on the door, or rang the bell or just walked in and talked to them.
- Imagine such a thing. Without asking a parent! By ourselves!
- Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't learned to deal with disappointment.
- When students failed a grade they were held back to repeat it! Tests were not adjusted for any reason.
- Our actions were our own. Consequences were expected. No one to hide behind.
- This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers and problem solvers and inventors, ever. The past 50 years has been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to accept, cope with, ignore and/or handle the situation. And you're one of them. Congratulations!
Rodger Blaker is a life coach who works with Professionals, Entrepreneurs / Business Owners and Transitioners. Ready to achieve more? Imagine what's possible with a coach! For info on resources for your success, visit: //www.rodgerblaker.com
GIVE A GIFT TO A FRIEND! Please forward this copy to your friends and colleagues! That's how I grow!