Trouble remembering names? Try this...

I didn't say repetition, I said SPACED repetition

- Ken Blanchard,

Paul J. Meyer and

Dick Rube

Do you have trouble putting faces to the business cards you collect on your rounds each day? Or do you just not remember meeting people?

Shameful. You're wasting handshakes.

A good follow-up system will help you remember names.

Over the 2-3 weeks after meeting people -

• find a picture of the person on Internet...remember now what they look like?
• send a thank you for meeting them
• send a note asking for their Twitter, Facebook (yes FB is allowable for business) and LinkedIn names -I know, you can search for the name but that isn't the point...the point is connecting
• connect on Twitter, LinkedIn, FB

Treat this like dating...don't stalk. Give the person time to respond...the key is not repetition, but spaced repetition (see the book Know-Can-Do for a great story on this reasoning).


To that end...stop wasting handshakes

Staying connected to my confusion...it works for good!

Stay connected to your confusion and discover your why. Most

people let confusion lead to frustration and then they quit. Move

from confusion to discovery and curiosity....Explore.

- Paul Martinelli

Last December I wrote about staying connected to my confusion and discovering my why. This came about after hearing Paul Martenelli talk about the difference between confusion and frustration.

At the time I was writing about my marketing strategy, but since I've used this "discipline" in other areas also...

Don't let confusion turn to frustration.

If you do, you'll quit.

 

Stay connected to your confusion

get creative and discover your why.

 

 

I use the word discipline because my friend and coach Scott Carley insists "discipline" takes a lot of energy, and this has. But it's been a good exercise and I'm learning, growing and getting a better grip on at least a couple of "whys." I suppose some new habits will replace old/bad ones and thus...better results.

 

 

To that end..... 

Do right now well

Our grand business is not to see what lies dimly at a

distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand

- Thomas Carlyle

When I can't make a decision about tomorrow; I need to remember to just live for today.  If today's too long; live in this moment.

Do right now well.

If it's a struggle, don't waste it. The struggle could be the prize and missing that prize would be a strategy. Don't stop three feet from gold.

 Father, give me today my daily bread  - Matthew 6:11

To that end

Transform something today. Don't be concerned about tomorrow.

Don't try to make a change for a month, or even this

weekend. Just make it now, for today.

- John Maxwell

To that end.....

Really..you're trying to get it perfect?

I have to find the best way before I start

- the Perfection Gap

 

Gaps prohibit results

Thinking forward or backwards; which is most important? There's an argument for the masses!

 

Successful people pause and reflect on what they have already accomplished and how they are capable of accomplishing their dreams and goals. When gaps are noticed between those capabilities and desires, the successful person grows.

 

Successful people spend twice as much on the backwards evaluating forwards as they do thinking about what must be done.

 

Coach John Wooden said, "Things turn out best, for the people who make the best of the way things turn out."

 

I love what Tim Hetzner with Lutheran Church Charities says - "Pursuing a God-given dream is a bumpy ride, as every leader in the Bible found out. And only those who think right succeed. The greatest gap between successful people and unsuccessful people is the thinking gap. This is especially so when it comes to failure. Successful people see failure as a regular part of success, and they get over it. Jonah Salk, the developer of the polio vaccine, said: 'As I look upon the experience of an experimentalist, everything that you do is, in a sense, succeeding. It's telling you what not to do, as well as what to do. Not infrequently, I go into the laboratory, and people would say something didn't work. And I say, "Great, we've made a great discovery!" If you thought it was going to work, and it didn't work, that tells you as much as if it did. So my attitude is not one of pitfalls; my attitude is one of challenges and "what is nature telling me?'' ' Such persistence only comes from right thinking, and it is the hallmark of all successful people. They keep trying, keep learning, and keep moving forward. They win the battle in their minds, and then it overflows into what they do."

To that end.....

Life is very simple but keeping it that way is very difficult

Life is very simple but keeping
it that way is very difficult

- The Law of Design

I'm reminded this morning of the time I asked Curtis Dickey, my son-in-law...

Do you think of a glass half-full, or half-empty?

He replied..."that depends upon whether I'm filling it or drinking it."

Really! That's awesome. Why do we make things so difficult?

Thanks Curtis...for that and many other things.


To that end....

The four questions that will shape your destiny

There is no personal benefit in believing that there is

a God who cares unless we realize that He cares for us personally.

- Ed Silvoso

I read that statement, skimmed the chapter for the four questions and thought "true." As I then went about some other things, I started thinking "why was I so quick to agree, and who wouldn't?"

The realization that so many people don't know, or don't agree, or don't know enough, haven't searched out enough to agree - well, it's puzzling. And sad. But then, the way I act much of the time...if I really understood how much He cared, would I act that way? Would I have so much uncertainty? Would I be so..............!

Is there a God?

Does God care?

Does God care for me?

Does God care about what we do?

I know a lot of people who believe there's "a" God, but with each question get farther away from the real yes.

Heavenly Father. Give me today my daily bread. I know You are the one and only God, my Father, my Savior. Thank You Lord. I know You care and care for me, and I know you care about what I do.
 
Thank You for Your grace and mercy. Thank You for dying for me, for coming to life again and going to prepare a place for me. Thank You for sending Your Spirit to help me through the day, to provide that daily bread.
 
I lift up to You those reading this that don't know you. I pray they would come to know You through Your death on the cross. I pray we all come to know You closer and know how much You care for us.
 
 
To that end.........Amen

The cost of leadership - Are you more interested in rights or responsibilities?

The heart of good leadership is sacrifice

- John Maxwell

 

When a leader "gets" that he/she looses rights as responsibilities increase, the real leader emerges. As I explain that concept, I really watch my audience; some find it curious, others ridiculous.

My experience has shown this is where the true leader begins seperating from the rest of the crowd. Many want to be a leader, consider themselves leaders, but are they willing to give up rights?

I'm thinking right now of some conversations I've had within my organizations and in training classes. As I think back - as I pause and reflect - I remember those who failed to get this important factor.

John explains it well in the Law of Sacrifice / 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, page 223.


To that end....what's more important to you? Rights or Responsibilites?

After vacation....getting back into a rhythm

If you cheat it in the dark of the morning,  you'll

be found out under the bright lights

- Joe Frazier 

Getting back into a familiar rhythm since returning from a 5 day vacation is usually more like "the tyranny of the urgent"  than "redeeming the routines." This time though, not so much, if at all.

In this morning's quiet-time I found myself drawn back to the Law of Consistency (from Maxwell's The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth )

Motivation gets you going, discipline keeps you growing

 

Thankfully, some good pause and reflection practice prior to leaving caused me to get engaged and well ahead of some things. Thus, the hard work and learning from prior mistakes kept new mistakes from happening.

And, the routines (efficient or not) were easier to re-engage in!


To that end............

Do-a-do-don't-not-do-a-don't

Do-a-do-don't-not-do-a-don't

- Cash Matthews

Cathy and I got back last night from a fantastic 4 day cruise aboard the Carnival "Triumph."

Billy Braxdale, of the Braxdale Travel fame, was an incredible host!

Not only did we have a great time with each other, plenty of food and relaxation"s" (can you say "a lot of reading"), we also renewed a couple of old friendships and started new ones.

We also received some really good leadership training from Kerry and Brad Moore, Cash Matthews and Lysa Saavedra!  I'll be posting a bit the next few days from my notes and thoughts, but here's a tip I picked up from Cash Matthews, Founder of The Soloman Group -

Do-a-do-don't-not-do-a-don't

 

 

To that end....dream BIG!

Blind spots. They're called that for a reason

To see something in your blind spot, you have to either move around, or, have someone point it out to you. Otherwise it's not a blind spot. Correct?

Normally, I need someone to point it out to me, or to utilize some sort of device.

I hate the not-so-not-normal when my blind spot slaps me to get my attention. That attention is usually costly.


To that end......

Some things you just do..everyday (even if you miss a day)

There are certain business things I need to do everyday that I put on my calendar as a recurring item -

1. Emails to people I met yesterday
2. add to database
3. 15 minutes of social media posting. Schedule post for the day, or even week. Retweet/share post of those in my spheres of infuence (I have "follow" lists on Hootsuite to help recognize)
4. Write 5-10 minutes of a blog post.

This is all done, along with printing out my calendar for the day before I ever look at email.

Thanks to Scott Carley for this "wait to view email" technique.


To that end.....

If I ever write a book on "God and Work" it will be named..

Sacred Work: What If God Designed Work to Make Me Holy More Than Me Happy?


These are some highlights of what I've learned about God's view of work over the past 23 years -

• God is a worker. Always has been, still is
• God created man and woman as His co-workers
• Before the fall, God created work
• Work is not the result of the curse
• nature of work is good, not evil
• work became hard after the fall
• Through work we,
• serve others
• meet our personal and family needs
• earn money to give to others
• take what God has made and re-create new products and services
• Christ's death did not change work, but the worker
• Ghrist gives the worker the opportunity to be back in the right relationship with God
• Christ wants to transform me as a worker
• The Hebrew word for "to work" "to serve" and "to worship" is the same
• In the New Testament, the focus of worship shifts from the temple to Jesus. Through my belief in Jesus, and with the help of the Holy Spirit whom Jesus sent, I can worship God anywhere.

And, I've learned God wants me to have a proper balance with all areas of my life, including my family and resting.

And prayer. What a difference pausing and praying makes to my work, my life. That time in the morning, on and off during the day, it makes a difference that goes past happy.

So what if work is more about making me holy?

To that end.......

Good Service is your #1 Marketing Tool/Weapon

There are still lies I believe!

Excited to hear Dr. Chris Thurman speak today at CRU/Priority Associates-Austin.

God has brought about some incredible changes in my life, despite my kicking and screaming. One of those was getting me to go to a men's retreat in 1990. Dr. Thurman was the speaker that Friday and Saturday.

His subject was "The Lies We Believe."

Forever grateful for how Dr. Thurman allowed God to speak so clearly through him that weekend.



To that end....

What does history have to say about Jesus?

The older I get, the more
relevant is the past.

As I get older I my thoughts go to the past more often. Not just my past, but the past. What does history, non-Biblical history, have to say about Jesus?

Here are some things I ran across this week -

Annuls 15.44 (c. 114 A.D.) - Roman historian, Tacitus, wrote that the founder of the Christian religion, Jesus Christ, was put to death by Pontius Pilate in the reign of the Roman Emperor Tiberius

Letters 10.96-97 - Pliny the Younger wrote a letter to the Emperor Trajan on the subject of Christ and Christians.

Antiquities 18.68 -(c. 90 A.D.) - Jewish historian Josephus penned a short biographical note on Jesus: "Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call Him a man, for He was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as received the truth with pleasure. He drew over to Him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was Christ."

Sanhedrin 43a, Adodoh Zeraj 16b-17a - The Talmud refers to Jesus of Nazareth


Interesting stuff. Huh?

What dream have you had in the past that you obtained?

"My name is Andre Agassi.....I play tennis for a living, even though I hate tennis. I hate it with a dark and secret passion, and always have." - from the opening paragraph of his autobiography "OPEN"

WOW! What a shocking statement from an incredible athlete who reached the pinnacle of his field.

How do you feel about your job? Do you hate your job/career, but continue to because of.......? Do you strive to be the best in the world at what you do, yet hate it? Agassi, while he hated playing tennis, he felt he had a job to do, a mission to fulfill. How do you feel about your job, or career? Do you feel you're called to do what you do? Do you struggle with the purpose - the why?

What's the goal-behind-the-goal

What's your goal-behind-your-goal? There's where jazz comes from.

- Paul Martinellie

Seeking clarity about the starting point

Today is the first day of the rest of your life

- Someone

Something else I've been pondering; clarity. How do I get clarity? Ask questions. How do I get really good clarity? Ask good questions. How do I get great clarity? Ask great questions.
 
And dig through them again, and again, and again.
 
And get someone to ask them to you. Again and again.
 
Seems like a lot of work? Yes. But.....what does the alternative bring me? Aha!
 
Here's some questions I'm asking, journaling, digging through. They can be found in John Maxwell's book The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth, pages 59-64....
 

1. What is my biggest asset?

2. What is my biggest liability?

3. What is my highest high?

4. What is my lowest low?

5. What is my most worthwhile emotion?
6. What is my least worthwhile emotion?
7. What is my best habit?
8. What is my worst habit?
9. What is most fulfilling to me?
10. What do I prize most highly?


To that end......praying for clarity