April 2017

Business Tips:

·         LISTEN: In business & life, this tool has been invaluable. Sometimes we formulate what we are going to say before we let another person talk. Without properly listening to the person that you are speaking with, you will miscommunicate and cause issues. 5 steps: Be present – eyes, ears, posture to engage; Pay attention – stop talking, using a phone, utensil, and avoid distractions; Accuracy – what are they meaning, paraphrase back to speaker to clarify; Empathy – listen under words to hear point of view, needs and feelings, avoid assuming you know their perspective; Mutual Creativity – now you have 2+ people communicating that can look forward, solve problems, relate to issues, develop action plans, and formulate creative solutions so act like it.

·         GO AFTER SOLVING YOUR OWN PROBLEM: This is something that most folks just won’t do. First this has to maintain correct context. If you don’t know how to do something it should be said that someone else does. Therefore, in solving your own problem, you will shortcut mistakes, delays, and costs by asking someone how to most effectively cure the issue/problem. This also means that you can solve your own problems by taking initiative and making sure you have a correct and adequate solution for the task at hand. Management should encourage this growth in you.

Personal Tips:

·         ADD VALUE: Many folks have asked me personally for income raises over the years. I find it interesting that many expect a raise without adding value to their position. Time on the job does “not necessarily equal” value. Value is determined by how you can reinvent your position by continually looking for ways to make it better for the company and yourself. I have many ideas on this if you are interested. The best way to add value is to find the intersection between what people are willing to pay for and align that with your strengths and goals. Cost of living pay increases are a different discussion.

·         BE RESILIENT: In what we do, things rarely work out the way we planned. There will always be distractions, stumbling blocks, weather, cancellations, missed sales, etc. The key is to persist and develop the courage to learn something from failure by realizing that it isn’t final. Fail your way to getting better and becoming successful. Just don’t quit.

·         UNDERSTAND TIME:  Time is how we measure return on investment. This return can be measured in all of life’s components – our faith, family, work, finances, etc. How do we maximize that return? Look for ways to complete more than one task at the same time. (i.e.: while going outside – take out trash, feed the animals, and get the mail rather than going in and out) Avoid multiple negatives – i.e. “Overdrinking” adds up in multiple ways (expensive, hangovers ruining next day effectiveness, and most likely unproductive time). Utilize the Power of Compounding – i.e. – money compounding interest, you are your number one investment (what you learn to know and apply over time compounds on itself). TRUTH IS THIS: no one is going to consider your time valuable until you do.

Feel free to ask for advice or copies of any of the above references, ideas, or books.

Life Skills:

Faith, Family, Fitness, Finances, Friends, Fun, Following, Freedom; we call these the 8F’s in life. Many of these categories can tell one where their priorities are in life by measuring the time one would spend in one of the above categories.

FINANCES:  Numbers scare quite a few people. However if you want to get anywhere in life you need to personally get a handle on this. There are many resources available to you on this. 1. Know your finances – know who you owe what and when, create a budget, and start to track your spending, 2. Get out of debt (Google – debt snowball) and have someone hold you accountable to it. 3. Set a plan for dreams, investing, saving, and retirement. This is a short list, but a very good start. For further education give us a call.  

Notable quotes:

“The road to success is paved with a thousand failures”

“Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.”

“There are 2 great days in a person’s life – the day we are born and the day we discover why.”- Barclay 

“God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well.”

 “It’s not a lack of love, but lack of friendship with commitment that leads to failed marriages.”