Monthly Archives: June 2014

Do you know how to get lucky?

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“How did you get so lucky?”

It’s a question I’ve heard all my life…and, something must have been in the air, I heard it more than once while I was at the TED Active conference earlier this year in Canada (you know about TED, right? See below…*). I counted that question come up during 4 different discussions over the 5 days we were together.

I recently reviewed the dozens of pages / journal entries in my Moleskine notebook that I filled during the event, and based on those four questions I’ll share ways I’ve worked to create “luck” over the years. But, before I share HOW I do it, let me tell you WHAT the word LUCK means to me.

Define Lucky

Personally, I rely on the Dictionary App on my MacBook Pro (and another one on my iPhone) to define words for me.

So, here it is (as a noun):
LUCK: success or failure apparently brought by chance rather than through one’s own actions

And then, a quick visit to “wiktionary.org” and I read this definition:
LUCK: something that happens to someone by chance, a chance occurrence

Now, whatever that word means to you, the question is how are you setting yourself up to experience the kinds of things that you’re looking to achieve? And, if work AND life goals lay ahead of you in the future, what can you do to “increase the likelihood” that good kinds of things will happen? I have 4 ideas for you here:

Visualize…Don’t Wish

One thing I’ve tried to never do is make wish lists. I try to have a very steppingstone mentality about this whole thing, where as soon as you make one step you visualize the next step, not five steps ahead.
~ Taylor Swift

When I discovered the need to visualize, I was much, much younger. It was at the end of a particularly taxing day. I was feeling stressed out; overwhelmed. I sat across the table from a mentor of mine, someone who was in a position to teach me about more than just my chosen career; he also coached me in how to “think” better about what I was doing. He asked me a simple question with complex answers: “Jason,” he said, “would you know a good day if you saw one?”

Truth was…I wouldn’t have. I’d spent weeks rehearsing in my mind - and telling anyone who would listen - how hard/difficult/challenging/messed-up things were. I went home that night and I wrote out my first “Ideal Day.”

Here’s the experiment…Open your notebook (paper OR digital) and label the top of each page, “An Ideal Day at ______________.” (You’ll want to start with 5 of these…) Choose a sample day; a day at work; a day on vacation; a travel day; a sick day; a holy-day, you get the picture. Then, spend about 15 minutes (click here when you’re ready to start) and script out what you can visualize happening during one of those days. Write the elements, the conditions, the results as if you were seeing them occur with your very eyes…

Know When You’re At Your Best…Don’t Hope

Every job is good if you do your best and work hard. A man who works hard stinks only to the ones that have nothing to do but smell.
~ Laura Ingalls Wilder

On my way to Cleveland, OH one Sunday evening many years ago, I experienced one of “those” travel days. Near midnight, I had to make a judgment call; I decided to drive from Chicago, IL to Cleveland Heights, OH so that I could fulfill my commitment of being “on stage” for the client the next morning. I remember at about 4am, about halfway there, I stopped to fill the tank with gas. In those few minutes, I opened my notebook and on top of a blank page I wrote, “I’m at my best when…” Then, I filled in the blank lines with the kinds of things I could do over the following 4 hours to “increase the likelihood” that I’d have a good day with the client group who had hired me.

Do it. On a blank piece of paper - or, on the white board in your office - write your own list of 5-10 “conditions” for you being at your best. Make sure they are (1) 100% in your control, and (2) 100% believable that they could happen. Want some examples? Just visit the website: www.AtMyBestWhen.com

Build Your Team…Don’t Settle

I am a member of a team, and I rely on the team, I defer to it and sacrifice for it, because the team, not the individual, is the ultimate champion.
~ Mia Hamm

Is there someone around you, someone who emails you, someone who calls you…Someone who, when you see their name/face, stresses you out and brings you down? Just the other day I was listening in as Jodi was interviewed about founding her small advising business www.NoMoreNylons.com. The radio host must have asked, “What were you doing before you started this service?” For about 4 minutes, I heard my wife explain - in great detail - the effect her previous job was having on her overall mental health. She was stressed. She was sad. She was sick. Sunday afternoons she started feeling depressed. Thursday mornings she started living for Friday night. It wasn’t a healthy life…

Join Get Momentum. Spend the next year surrounded with and by people who are focused on the #Better movement. They have dedicated themselves, their companies, their efforts to improving the experiences they have, the success the achieve, the happiness they are a part of. Build your team…Don’t settle for mediocrity.

Measure (the Right) Feedback…Don’t Assume

I don’t care what people say about my relationship; I don’t care what they say about my boobs. People are buying my songs; I have a sold-out tour. I’m getting incredible feedback from my music.
~ Katy Perry

Ever heard that saying (I believe it was by Einstein) about measuring things that matter? Back about 15 years ago, I was a first-year high school teacher and the entire school district was focused on showing some marked, objective improvement that the students were making throughout the year. You see, each student was going to complete the same curriculum and be assessed the same way at the end of the year. So, I took the California State Standards (for US History, World History, and Spanish I and Spanish II - the classes I was teaching) and broke them in to the themes that I could wrap my brain around. Then, each week, on Wednesday’s, I’d check in with the students with some kind of assessment to make sure we were on course to get to where we all wanted to be.

You gotta know what it’s all for; what is it all worth to you to experience the success you’re marching toward? If you take the time right now, some 15 minutes, that’s all, to identify a specific target you’re marching toward, well then you can break that down in to different parts. So, start that 15 minute timer (click here), take out some paper, and give yourself the gift of your attention and plan your future.

 

*If you asked yourself, “Who’s TED, and why is his name in capital letters…?” then you don’t yet know about the TED Conference. Run, don’t walk, and visit www.TED.com; you’ll be glad you did!

 

Was that the best one you had? (Questions about Productivity and technology…)

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Those two words could (or even should) go hand in hand. It’s possible now to work smarter, and more ubiquitously, than ever.

With the proliferation of social networking, it’s easier and faster than ever to learn from the community.

Think about the last time you asked someone a question. Now, ask yourself, “Was that the BEST question I could have asked?”

How do you know, however, that the technology you’re using and the effort you’re expending is worthwhile? Are you both effective AND efficient? One way to find out is to learn from the people around you.

Here are two questions I suggest you ask people you know when you’re looking to get more from your technology—the gear, tools, and apps:

1. What do you use for…?
This is a question I often ask when I’m trying to get something done that I have a feeling could be done easier (meaning faster, cheaper, and/or better). Sample questions I’ve asked include: “What program/app/tool do you use to track expenses while you’re traveling?” Or “What app do you use to organize items on your to-do lists?”

2. Who do you know who…?
With the proliferation of social networking—and access to those networks via your tablet, smart phone, and desktop computer—it’s easier and faster than ever to learn from the community. Once you define something to get better at, use this question to tap your network for expertise.

It’s time to ask new questions; in doing so, you may notice an increase in output and a life and work style that leads to success.

(If you’d like to read this article at Training Magazine .com, just click here!)

Listen and learn - on the go!

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Each month, Get Momentum members learn from an expert in the field of the Momentum Skill we’re studying. I spend 30 minutes or so asking questions, getting at the core of their expertise. They share the ideas, the tips, the secrets of how they are so successful - in life and at work.

Well, now, members can download the Audio files of those interviews. (If you’re a member, click here and you’ll be able to see that link!)

An all-time favorite question: “How do I focus?”

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Working downtown, in New York City, I got to put my camera up to the window and take this picture of the view I saw as I was preparing for my presentation

So, over here I wrote up a little idea for you to consider: Don’t ask “how” to focus, instead ask “what” to ignore!

Click here to read it all…

Where do you go, when you need to get there?

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When it’s time to get to your “next there,” who do you turn to?

Let’s say you’re looking at your calendar, and you “accidentally” flip forward three months instead of just two. You see something that’s 90 days away - an event, a meeting, a conference, a due-date, a “something” - and you realize, “I’m not ready for that yet.” What would you do? If you’re like most people, you’ll probably tell yourself you “should” do something about it. You may even write something on your todo list. You might add a reminder to your calendar for next week (or next month).

Want To Be Better? Get More Done Faster?

Those are the things you’d do if you weren’t a member of the Get Momentum program. How do I know? I’ve heard too many great stories. Just last week, over three coffee chat events in NYC, I met with 5 Get Momentum members, and toward the end of each conversation I asked, “What are you working on, and what help do you need?

Let me tell you what I do when I have a new “there” to march toward. I call in on my team. I call my friends, my colleagues, my family, and my mentors. Today, I talked my way through 90 minutes of conversation with one of the few advisors I will fly all over the world for. (I stayed four extra days in NYC especially for this meeting; it was that important…) Imagine my surprise later that day when I saw the tweet that she posted!

Our society views “asking for help” as a luxury, at best, or a weakness, at worst. Many people feel that revealing your needs this way marks you in some negative way. Some people seem to think that if they can’t do it “all on their own,” someone may notice and think of them negatively. Only thing is, everyone - that is EVERY ONE - at some point didn’t know all they know now. You ask them, “How did you learn all that?” and they will have to admit, at some point, that they learned it. They may have gone to school, they may have researched it on their own, but…When it comes down to it…They had other people before, along the way, and after them helping them learn what they know.

When it comes time to decide how far you’re going to go, and how seriously you’re going to take those goals you keep thinking about, it’s not going to be enough to “bully yourself” through to the other side. Do what you can, talk to people, plan your process, engage in finding sustainable and repeatable patterns to get you to where you want to be… Get Momentum!

Here’s a link to an interview Frances and I did a while back.

If you want more, join Get Momentum today. Frances will be our Success Profile during a theme later this summer.

60 Months From Now

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Is 5 years too long for you to imagine? Look, you’re going to be another day older tomorrow whether you do any of this “Momentum” stuff or not. My question to you is:

How Good Do You Want Things to Be?

If you’re ready to move things ahead, keep on reading… (I’m going to mention this video a little bit later.)

I believe in the power of Connection. In fact, I think it’s one of the most important leadership skills you can improve.

I can give you 3 critical reasons for bettering the way you connect with the people you work with, live with and love:

1. 60 months from now: you’ll be where you are, doing what you’re doing, earning what you’re earning based on the people you spend the most time with.

2. 52 weeks from now: your leadership style and your management abilities will be based on the people you spend the most time with.

3. In just 30 days: your current habits and routines (and the stress you experience) will be based on…
…the people you spend the most time with.

In those same 30 days, you can learn how to deepen your important connections, work and live more collaboratively together, and reduce the stress you feel of having to do so much…with so little. Isn’t it time you make the most important things more important?

At Get Momentum, each month I teach you everything you need to know about one leadership skill. Throughout the 12-month curriculum, you learn to be a better leader, to work smarter, to achieve more.

I made this video for you to explain the Get Momentum Coaching Program. By curating the best content, you avoid feeling overwhelmed and get the most out of your time investing in your continual professional improvement.

Just click here to watch the 3-minute video… Ready?

Decision Making - What a Way to Block Momentum

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The “key” to productivity is not managing time. No matter what you’ve read or how many seminars you’ve been to, if you maintain that you “just need more time” to get things done, you’re in for a rude awakening. (That was a favorite line my mom liked to say to me…)

You see, it’s not time you’re managing; not even close. I won’t give you the exhaustive list of all the things you do manage to make your way thorough a successful day. Instead, I’ll focus on one that you can actually do something about.

Focus

That’s it!

One word, focus (the center of interest or activity) that is most important to  your overall sense of productivity and well-being. So, how do you improve your focus? Stop making so many decisions.

Here’s how…