Don't just habit your day away

Motivation gets you going, discipline keeps you growing  (from the Law of Consistency). I looked this morning to see what I'd be covering in a Lunch & Learn today, and you know.....things happen for a purpose and I don't believe in coincidences.

Before I read the lesson, I was in a blah blah mood. Going through the motions, not motivated. Dragging. And then, just reading that title (and having read/taught this chapter 8-10 times), and in a heartbeat, the thoughts about goals vs growth, motivation vs discipline came on and BAM!!
 
Great chapter. My favorite.

Discipline keeps you growing (and going I guess?). Discipline...choices....discipline is about making choices to off-set habits; choices of hope, growth, widening my SOI, thinking into my results.....choices. Make choices, stepping out of my comfort zone....understanding that the fear of change isn't real, but only a product of my conditioning..

Discipline, making choices, understanding, stepping out.

To that end....make choices, don't just habit your day away.

I love these kind of calls....

I love these kind of calls..

“Danny, I just signed a contract that I would not have gotten if I hadn’t been in your program and decided I was tired of wasting handshakes.

Heck, until I took your program I wasn’t even aware that I was wasting them!”

Choice #10 - Hope

Choice #11 - Clarity and Simplicity

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown

Posted in Reading Blog: Click here

Hope and tasks; a strong combination.

What causes me to miss goals?

You're correct if you said 1. Not putting In the Time, bad Attitude, lack of Skill, not enough Knowlwdge and/or a Style problem.

Or, if I have these T.A.S.K.S. in order and just didn't have HOPE. 

Hope overcomes the real obstacles. With hope I have a sense of victory and will drive through the doubts and that subconscious gremlin that's doing everything it can to shut me down.

With HOPE I can

- find the Time

- improve my Attitude

- develop the Skill

- improve my Knowledge

Thinking before circumstances

So much truth in this.....

"Men are anxious to improve circumstances yet unwilling to improve themselves, they therefore remain bound." - James Allen in "As A Man Thinketh" 

I see a lot of new processes, systems, techniques and gadgets (circumstances)...but as another wise man said.., 

"If we don't spend at least as much time improving our thinking as those processes, systems, techniques and gadgets, we'll wonder about our lack." 


#ChooseAheadOfOpportunities

Why do businesses fail?

When we start are business, we're excited, we have dreams...we're at a certain place. And we start running. 

And our business is behind us. 

We're out in front, leading. 

Over time, the natural tendency is for our business to catch up with us. 

Eventually, if we let it, it will surpass us and we will struggle to keep up. If we even can.

But our business needs us to lead. It needs us to run out in front. Without the leadership, both will fail. But we can't lead if we aren't growing, building.

To lead well...to truly lead, we must build our selves out in front. We must grow at a faster pace than our business. The business person's success is dependent on his or her personal development being in a constant state of increase.

Our PERSONAL development must stay ahead of our business in order for it to be successful.

To that end....

Danny

512-773-6528

www.ImpactInnerCircleMastermind.com

Laying it all down...thinking about September's paycheck

I know, it's not all about money, but some things are.

1.      How much are you going to make on your September paycheck?

2.      Where do you “think” that business is going to come from? 

Think about that…what RESULTS do you want?

Think into those results with I.M.P.A.C.T....

What IDEAS do you have about getting those results?

MEDITATE (pray) on your ideas, the results you want.

PROPOSE QUESTIONS to yourself about the choices, behaviors, actions, causes and circumstances that could bring about those results.

ANALYZE/ACT - how it’s work for you in the past. What did you do right? Wrong? What needs to change? Do something even if it’s wrong (anything worth doing is worth doing poorly until you can learn to do it right!)

CONQUER the gremlins! We all have them. What negative talk to you have going on in your head? What are you saying when you talk to yourself? Fight the demons..the gremlins!

TRANSCRIBE (journal) your thoughts…your ideas…the results you want.

To that end....

Excuses are like....

Excerpts from Jim Collins' small booklet Good to Great and The Social Sectors...page 28-29

The # 1 best-performing investment in the universe of American public companies (according to Money Magazine) over a 30 year period, 1972 to 2002 was Southwest Airlines. A $10,000 investment in 1972 would have returned more that $10 million in 2007.

Yet, the airline industry remained one of the worst imaginable....Airline executives have habitually blamed industry circumstances.

What if the people at Southwest had said, "Hey, we can't do anything great until we fix the systemic constraints facing the airline industry."?

Think about that...

- the airline industry was thought to be in shambles

- Southwest Airlines literally SOARED during the same period.

Why?

The executives at Southwest had different thoughts.

That's it.

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


Danny
512-773-6528
www.ImpactInnerCircleMastermind.com

What drives me to be more productive?

Michael Hyatt asked that question on his blog this morning. 

Great question....What drives me to be more productive?

- promises. I've committed to getting something done. 

- deadlines. 

- desires, wants, dreams (I'm barely tempted to say goals....which might be another ponder - why don't goals drive me?)

- innate drive to just do something, even if it's wrong. Mostly start something.

At 59 years old, I'm more aware of finishing and that this starting thing can be a distraction, but not always. 

Michael also asked.....Did you start this week running toward the goal or away from the wolf? 

As I've become more dependent on God, not so much the wolf these days. And, that's something I'm praying, studying and thinking into....to get out of the way and depend on Him. 

To that end.....

Danny L. Smith

512-773-6528

"Continuously successful people choose to build themselves ahead of their business."

Taking small bites

My "focus choice" this week has been #13 - "to take small bites."

- stay engaged in the 6 things

- look for small things to do

- be quick, be bright, be gone

- sweat the small stuff

- think into the results in ways that matter RIGHT NOW

Reflecting back into the week and it's all good. I'm surprised how calm and relaxed I was (am) considering the way some things played out. 

That's not to say that a bit of choice #3, evaluation & correction, won't show some needs, but this was a week I'm glad I wasn't trying some really big things. 

To that end..... 

Danny L. Smith

512-773-6528

"Continuously successful people choose to build themselves ahead of their business."

Everything needs a platform

A good study of marketing will bring about the use of "platforms" in your processes.

The best, the very best, platform is a blog. When people come into your internet world, it's your blog they eventually land on. When someone clicks on your profile in Google+, LinkedIn, Facebook, Pinterest or any other social media, they should land on your very purposeful thought-out platform - your BLOG.

Click to continue reading....

5 years from today

I've mentioned this Ziglar quotes hundreds of times....

"You'll be the same 5 years from today, as you are today, except for what you listen to - who you associate with - what you read."

I don't care who you are....we're all growing in some direction. 

Looking back, I can tell I'm growing well because of where and with whom I'm spending my time. 

With who and what are you spending your time? 

It matters. 

Danny L. Smith

512-773-6528

"Continuously successful people choose to build themselves ahead of their business."

Margins for problems

Margins are the space needed to stay sane.

Sometimes it's not enough to just not add something else to your plate. Sometimes what's already there grows and you have to stop doing something you're already doing.

Confusion, frustration and quit will set in otherwise. Margins. Evaluation. Correction.

Seize the DAY! Go-get-it. PERIOD

You might never fail on the scale I did, but some level of failure is inevitable. It is impossible to live without failure unless you live so cautiously that you might not have lived at all. It which case you've failed by default.

- Best selling author of "Harry Potter" Mrs. J.K. Rowling


...what is most important is that you have to dig deep down, deep deep down, and decide who you want to be. Not what, but WHO.

- Arnold Schwarzenegger

What's my purpose of using a CRM?

The people in my SOI (sphere of influence) is my BIGGEST asset. Thus, the PURPOSE of my CRM is manage my biggest asset.

To clarify....a CRM is a Contact Management System and I personally don't like the term CRM, but it is the most common term for a Contract Relationship Management "system." Maybe I need to coin the term CRMS, or CMS.....I do like to start things.

God's Concern

Two great thoughts shared with me the past few days -

"I contend George Washington's greatest leadership moment was the time he spent on his knees praying." - shared by John P Griffin in his speech at CBLG last week. 

"The key to Jesus' leadership was the relationship he had with his Father." - Blackaby, in his book "Spiritual Leadership"

Two fantastic thoughts, and then I come to this....

"God's concern is not to advance leaders' dreams and goals or to build their kingdoms." page 30, Spiritual Leadership

repost from Practicing Christianity blog

Thinking In The Box

Perceived Threats

I hear some things and they just CLICK. They fall instantly in place. Click - A perfect fit.

That's the sound I heard when mentor Ed DeCosta talked recently about selling and "perceived threats."

Click. Wow. Powerful.

He pointed out that when we're selling people have their defenses up. They know we're trying to get money and that in itself is reason to feel the threat. But there are other factors going on.