Sound Wisdom Blog
Recognize There Is Room to Grow by Ricky Kalmon
The human mind has an astounding capacity for learning. Unlike a computer’s hard drive, there is no limit to the knowledge and experiences that can be stored in it. However, some people believe that growth and learning only take place during our formative years, when we receive our formal education. That is not the case. In fact, unlike a person’s height or shoe size, the mind is the one part of the body that has an infinite ability to grow.
The human mind has an astounding capacity for learning. Unlike a computer’s hard drive, there is no limit to the knowledge and experiences that can be stored in it. However, some people believe that growth and learning only take place during our formative years, when we receive our formal education. That is not the case. In fact, unlike a person’s height or shoe size, the mind is the one part of the body that has an infinite ability to grow.
The world around us is constantly evolving, and if we do not evolve and grow with it, we will become stagnant and place our success on a plateau.
There is always room to grow—the mind has an incredible ability to change, adapt, and improve. This ability does not decline with age or with success. Personal and professional growth actually stimulate the mind, encourage innovation and creative thinking, and increase curiosity. Every new experience and piece of knowledge becomes part of the phenomenal encyclopedia stored in our mind. It is never lost—our subconscious continually refers to it in everything we do.
Even CEOs and top leaders invest in their growth. They know that there is always room to grow, even at the top. Learning and growing must occur for a business to grow and adapt to changes. The same is true for people; they, too, must invest in their personal and professional development in order to increase their value.
Learning and growth are like exercise for the mind. Just as we exercise our heart and muscles, we must continue throughout life to exercise our mind to keep it functioning at its best. Recognize that there is always room to grow and invest in learning every day. Don’t take it for granted—make a conscious effort to fuel your success by enriching your growth. Read a book, attend a workshop, take a class, get a new degree, or learn a new hobby or another language. Your mind is thirsty for knowledge and exercise—giving it permission to grow is the best investment you can make in your future.
Ricky Kalmon is a mindset expert, motivational speaker, and celebrity hypnotist who delivers high-energy and motivational keynote programs that will change the way you live, work, and think. By creating awareness of your thoughts, Kalmon reveals how to enhance your mindset to eliminate doubt and ignite your positive intentions. Hi book Leverage Your Mindset: Overcome Limiting Beliefs and Amplify Your Life! is published by Sound Wisdom and available for preorder from these and other fine retailers: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, Porchlight Books, Google Play, and Apple Books. By purchasing the book, you’ll receive exclusive access to an audio support program on the Ricky Kalmon app.
Urgent vs. Important by Jim Stovall
Success in our personal and professional lives is not just a matter of doing things right but also doing the right things. It is very easy to get caught up in activity as opposed to engaging in productivity. There are so many thoughts, ideas, messages, and tasks competing for our attention that we must have a system to filter out the noise and focus on the true path to our destiny.
Success in our personal and professional lives is not just a matter of doing things right but also doing the right things. It is very easy to get caught up in activity as opposed to engaging in productivity. There are so many thoughts, ideas, messages, and tasks competing for our attention that we must have a system to filter out the noise and focus on the true path to our destiny.
My late, great friend and colleague, Dr. Stephen Covey, in his landmark book First Things First, introduced people around the world to his four-quadrant diagram. As often is the case with learned and prolific people, Dr. Covey’s wisdom captured and built upon the teaching of a proven leader. Dwight David Eisenhower is unique among U.S. presidents and world leaders in that the pinnacle of this power and productivity may not have been his presidency but, instead, may have been when he was General of the Allied Forces during World War II. General Eisenhower’s command required him to be precise, productive, and prolific at all times. The D-Day invasion probably required more management, oversight, and leadership than any project in recorded history.
General Eisenhower divided all information and actions into the categories of “important” and “urgent” in a system that has become known as the Eisenhower Box. In this system, combining these two elements gives us four possible categories. First, there are the items that are both important and urgent. These are tasks that demand our immediate attention, and the consequences will greatly affect our outcome. Ideally, with the exception of true emergencies, we should deal with important items before they become urgent. It is important to keep gas in our car, but it is not urgent to fill the tank unless we put it off until we are in the danger zone.
Second are the items that are important but not urgent. This category is where we should ideally focus the majority of our time, effort, and energy. President Eisenhower said, “What is important is seldom urgent and what is urgent is seldom important.” Having an estate plan for your family including a will and life insurance, or reviewing long-term goals and objectives within your professional life, or maintaining and cultivating great relationships with friends, colleagues, and loved ones are all vitally important to our success, but we should never allow these activities to become urgent.
Third are the items that are urgent but not important. This category includes activities that are relatively insignificant which may be expiring quickly. For example, an offer or a coupon to save an insignificant amount of money on something you may not want or need is certainly not important, but if you’re not careful, you may think it’s urgent if you continue to focus on the fact that it expires at the end of the day today.
Fourth among Dr. Covey’s quadrants or President Eisenhower’s box are the items that are not important and not urgent. You may wonder why two of the greatest thinkers of the last century would even include this category. They understood that more time is wasted and procrastination justified by junk, clutter, and time wasters. Here in the 21st century, we are bombarded with unimportant, non-urgent things that threaten to flood the landscape of our minds. In order to succeed, we must identify and eliminate these items immediately. Only when we look through the lens of productivity using a system such as Dr. Covey’s quadrants or President Eisenhower’s box, can we focus our effort and energy on the most vital things that will move us toward our goals, dreams, and legacy.
As you go through your day today, begin to control your activities through your own productivity system.
Today’s the day!
Jim Stovall is the president of Narrative Television Network, a columnist, a motivational speaker, as well as a published author of many books. His latest book, co-authored with Don Green of the Napoleon Hill Foundation, is The Gift of Giving: Living Your Legacy. It is available to purchase from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, Porchlight Book Company, Google Play, Apple Books, and other fine retailers. Follow Jim on Twitter (@stovallauthor) or Facebook (@jimstovallauthor). And be sure to sign up to receive free samples of Jim Stovall’s books and audiobooks from Sound Wisdom!
Accountability: It’s Personal by Sam Silverstein
One powerful lesson that accountable leaders can take from the last few extraordinary months is that personal commitments matter.
Photo by Words as Pictures from StockSnap
One powerful lesson that accountable leaders can take from the last few extraordinary months is that personal commitments matter.
That may seem like an obvious point. It is not. It requires constant reinforcement, especially within leadership circles. You would be surprised how many leaders I run into who imagine that their commitments do not need to be personal. They say things like “I am committed to quality” or “I am committed to making this company number one in its field.” Yet somehow they never grasp the importance of making personal commitments to actual human beings.
So let’s be clear. Without a personal commitment, there is no accountability. Teams and companies that struggle with sustaining good relationships also struggle with accountability. Without strong relationships, we cannot achieve anything of consequence, live up to our full potential, or make any kind of meaningful contribution as leaders or as human beings.
We are interconnected and interdependent, and our personal commitments matter. This principle holds true whether we are talking about a relationship that unfolds in our personal life or one that unfolds in our professional life. The kinds of commitments that support relationships are exactly the same in each realm.
Precisely the same rules apply whether you are the leader of a Fortune 1000 enterprise struggling to chart its path through an unprecedented economic downturn…or a member of a family struggling to stay sane and whole and safe in the midst of the global pandemic. The rules of the game are identical in both situations. They are extremely simple, and can be summarized as follows: accountable relationships require personal commitment in ten specific areas.
These ten RELATIONAL COMMITMENTS break down as follows:
I commit to discover and realize my own potential…so I can help others to reach theirs. We help other people get better and achieve more in their lives.
I commit to the truth. Lying and accountability cannot coexist.
I commit to live my values. Our core values state our principles and our standards of behavior. They are what we stand for. If we stand for nothing, we are wasting our lives. If we don’t know what our values are, we need to find out. Once we do know what our values are, we must honor them in our decision-making.
I commit to “It’s all of us.” When we commit to “It’s all of us,” we accept that we do not succeed unless the other person succeeds—and we accept that if the other person fails, we fail. This commitment starts with the people in our lives, and extends outward until it eventually encompasses the entire human family.
I commit to embrace faults and failures as well as opportunities and successes. We speak up about our own shortcomings, and we see discussing them as opportunities for growth. We do not judge others based on their worst moments. We are not perfect, and we do not expect others to be perfect.
I commit to sound financial principles. We come to this world empty-handed. We leave it empty-handed. In between, it is our job to maintain “our” resources responsibly—including, but not limited to, financial resources. We make giving a priority.
I commit to a safe space. We create and sustain an environment of physical, emotional, and psychological safety. What we allow in our space, we condone.
I commit to “My word is my bond.” What we say must align with what we do.
I commit to stand with you when all hell breaks loose. There will be tough times in life. We give people the support they need when they need it most, even if that is not convenient or easy.
I commit to a good reputation. Our actions matter—not just in terms of the outcomes they deliver today, but in terms of what people say about us, our family, our organization, and our team tomorrow.
There is no separate list of commitments for your professional life that is different from the list of commitments for your personal life.
These relational commitments are exactly the same.
If we expect to thrive in our families, in our organizations, or anywhere else, we must make each of these commitments on a personal level.
The people and organizations that will thrive during this time of challenge, the people and organizations that will come out of any crisis quickly and with the best prospects for success in the future, will be those that take on, and support, all ten of these relational commitments by means of actions—not words.
Accountability is based on accepting our interdependence, on understanding and fulfilling our personal, relational commitments to one another. If you want your family, your company, your society to be accountable, if you want to come out of hard times stronger than you went into it, I have good news for you: you really can make that happen by making, and following through on, these ten personal commitments.
Sam Silverstein is dedicated to empowering people to live accountable lives, transform the way they do business, and create a more accountable world. He helps companies create an organizational culture that prioritizes and inspires accountability. His latest book, I Am Accountable: Ten Choices That Create Deeper Meaning in Your Life, Your Organization, and Your World, is now available to buy from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, and Porchlight Books. You can follow Sam on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. This article originally appeared here on The Accountability Blog.
Are You “All in” on Your Life? by Jennifer Janechek
In her new book No Reserve: Take Ownership and Live YOUR Life without Limitations, celebrity “auctiontainer” Letitia Frye presents an extended metaphor comparing life to an auction. Many of us, she explains, establish conditions that are necessary for us to act on our dreams. Or in auctionspeak, we set a “reserve”—or a minimum bid—on our life. We wait to start living our legacies because we think we aren’t or don’t have enough: enough resources, enough connections, enough time, etc. As she writes, “Life is like an auction: you get your best returns if you don’t set a reserve on it. Anyone who wants to live a meaningful, fulfilling, invigorating life that makes an impression on the world must learn to live their life with no reserve.”
Stop setting a reserve on your life and start making progress toward your dreams.
Photo by Christina Morillo from StockSnap
This article originally appeared in Thrive Global.
In her new book No Reserve: Take Ownership and Live YOUR Life without Limitations, celebrity “auctiontainer” Letitia Frye presents an extended metaphor comparing life to an auction. Many of us, she explains, establish conditions that are necessary for us to act on our dreams. Or in auctionspeak, we set a “reserve”—or a minimum bid—on our life. We wait to start living our legacies because we think we aren’t or don’t have enough: enough resources, enough connections, enough time, etc. As she writes, “Life is like an auction: you get your best returns if you don’t set a reserve on it. Anyone who wants to live a meaningful, fulfilling, invigorating life that makes an impression on the world must learn to live their life with no reserve.”
What does it mean to live with “no reserve”? According to Frye, it means that we must go “all in” on our life and our dreams. It means that we have to take risks. It means that we have to give before we receive—without the expectation of a return—and that we have to build our network with an attempt to enrich our lives with multiple perspectives rather than align ourselves only with experts. In essence, it means that we have to discover for ourselves that we are our own greatest mentors and source of strength; we are, as Jason Hewlett’s The Promise to The One reminds us, The One whose Signature Moves can creative massive change—if we commit to sharing our gifts with the world.
Are you sitting in the back seat of your own life, missing valuable opportunities for growth and progress because you doubt your capabilities or fear the consequences of fully committing to your dreams? Below are three principles that will help you take the reserve off your life so that you can experience unlimited potential for success and enrichment:
Eliminate Project Noise
Sometimes we assume that our busyness is an indicator that we are working diligently to achieve our primary goal, but it can be quite the opposite: we might be undercutting ourselves by wasting time on activities that are not directly supporting our success. If we are “all in” on our lives, we have identified our definite chief aim and are ensuring that all our efforts are directed toward that one goal. To determine whether you are unknowingly holding yourself back in this way, write a list of all your responsibilities and activities—anything that requires your time, focus, or energy. Then arrange these responsibilities into three categories: (1) aligns with your primary goal; (2) might support your primary goal tangentially, whether through personal enrichment, financial provision, or another indirect connection; and (3) does not relate to or support your progress toward your primary goal in any way. Strike out all the commitments that fit into the third category. Scrutinize the activities in the second category, determining which ones are worth investing your attention into at the moment. The goal is to eliminate all “project noise”—time- and energy-draining activities that seem like opportunities on the surface but that ultimately keep you from making meaningful progress toward your goal because you’re expending your resources on activities that are peripheral to your chief aim.Put Passion Before Paycheck
According to Frye, “Waiting for someone else’s acknowledgment of your value is a set-up for failure. It prevents you from taking ownership of your life and gifts until you get that external validation.” That validation might be words of affirmation, or it might be the financial acknowledgment of the value that your expertise brings. Regardless of what form it takes, external validation should not dictate whether you pursue your dreams. Oftentimes a significant output of time and energy are required to see a financial return on your efforts, but there is no shortcut to success: you have to learn the ropes and invest time into your growth so that you can receive the maximum value for your contributions. That does not mean you can ignore financial responsibilities, but it does mean that you cannot wait to act on your dreams until the return is there.Become a Mentor
Rather than trying to find a mentor; become one. Build your network by reaching out to people who would benefit from the talents, skills, and gifts you have and determining how you can add value to their life. Through mentorship, you can magnify your impact while building a diverse network that will support your success journey by forcing you to take an active role in it. Stop pursuing the “experts” in your field and start pouring into others whose lives you can make an impression on. You will be amazed to discover what insights and gifts they can share, even if they are outside of your industry. Remember, you are the greatest mentor in your own life: if you’re “all in,” you can add value to others while expanding your own capabilities.
So many of us are missing crucial opportunities that could alter the course of our lives because we are consciously and unconsciously setting minimum requirements for our engagement—we have that reserve on our life that is limiting our reach. Stop waiting for your resources or the circumstances to be “enough” to merit your commitment; your dreams are worth the investment right now.
Currently celebrating over 16 years in the auction business and having raised over $500 million dollars for charity, Letitia Frye has truly earned her title as America’s foremost “auctiontainer.” Some of her biggest clients include St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Alice Cooper’s Solid Rock, and the Make-A-Wish Foundation®, but she brings to every event, no matter the size, her expertise, contagious energy, and unique flair. After a devastating accident in which she was struck by a car while running, leading to a traumatic brain injury, combined with the sudden death of the father of her children, Letitia decided to broaden her span beyond auctions in order to help more people by becoming a motivational speaker. Her book No Reserve: Take Ownership and Live YOUR Life without Limitations is now available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, Google Play, and Apple Books. Follow Letitia on Instagram (@letitia_frye) and Twitter (@LFAuctiontainer).
The Importance of Showing Up by Jason Hewlett
Have you ever had one of those nights where you absolutely could not miss your alarm going off? Whether it be a flight, a very important meeting, or something you promised your child you’d do with them, there is something so profound about how serious we take these commitments.
Have you ever had one of those nights where you absolutely could not miss your alarm going off? Whether it be a flight, a very important meeting, or something you promised your child you’d do with them, there is something so profound about how serious we take these commitments.
Yesterday, I needed to be somewhere by 6:00 a.m., and if I wasn’t there on time it would ruin a lifetime event for six families. How do you think I slept, even though I couldn’t fall asleep before 1:00 a.m. because I was so worried about sleeping through the alarm?
I woke up every hour on the hour, sleeping with one eye open, even having set two separate alarms (phone and old-time digital alarm clock). I finally got up at 4:00 a.m. even though the alarms were set for 5:15.
How seriously do you take your Promises and the things you said you’d do?
An acquaintance said he wanted to meet up for lunch. We confirmed the time and place an hour prior, just to be sure we were on the same page. I texted him 10 minutes after he was late, and then again 20 minutes. Finally, at minute 29 he strolled up like he was right on time. Who does that? And why?
No reason, just couldn’t make it at that time was the response.
Hmmmm…
We hired a handyman to help fix a few things around our home. The hour he said he’d be there came and went, and eventually three hours later he showed up.
Hmmmm…
I had a client call recently with the whole planning team. I called in five minutes early to be sure I was set with my Zoom angle, lighting, and sound. It was their meeting; I was just listening in. After the host didn’t start the meeting for five minutes, I texted them. Nothing. Ten minutes later, still nothing. I finally hung up the Zoom call and called the client, who texted and said they’d be right on. I logged back on. Twenty-five minutes later, the call started. Quick apology…on we go.
Hmmmm…
Yes, all of these deal with people being late. I’ve been late before. Once I was accidentally double-booked by an agent for events in two different countries on the same date. Instead of canceling on either client or going the safe and cheap route on commercial airline travel to fulfill the contract, I spent a good chunk of what I made that day to get to the second destination in time by chartering a private jet. I was almost late for that event, in that other country, but still an hour early…
I understand excuses. I get that there are valid reasons for being late. If there’s an accident, I can sympathize and forgive you, but there’s a power and, I believe, a sacredness in being on time.
It’s the importance of showing up.
There’s a power and, I believe, a sacredness in being on time.
Just show up! At this point in time, that is literally a big deal. Just show up. It’s pathetic that this a real statement. But people just don’t show up. And if they do, they’re late!
Don’t be that person.
Show up on time.
Do what you said you’d do.
That’s called keeping a Promise.
That’s what Leaders do. It’s what people who respect other people do.
Do you want to know why I couldn’t sleep last night? Was it for a flight, to take someone somewhere, or a big paid event?
Nope. It was for my voluntary, unpaid, happy-to-do-it church assignment.
I am assigned to fill up the baptismal font for people to be baptized. I consider this a sacred duty and a wonderful honor. I arrive before 6:00 a.m., alone, to prepare the building for a person’s special day and lifetime commitment. What a thrill! If those people are making that type of commitment, a Promise so great, then I’m going to lose sleep in order to be there for my responsibility.
I know you’d do the same.
That’s the Importance of Showing Up!
Jason Hewlett is a leadership expert, author, Hall of Fame speaker, and award-winning entertainer. His book The Promise to The One is available in both paperback and e-book form from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, Porchlight Book Company, Google Play, Apple Books, on August 18, 2020. This article originally appeared here on The Promise blog and has been edited for inclusion on The Sound Wisdom Blog. Subscribe for more inspiring content from Sound Wisdom.
Why Today’s Businesses Must Be “Uncopyable” by Steve Miller
Why do your customers do business with you? I bet it’s because of your excellent customer service, right? Or maybe it’s that innovative product you just launched. Guess what? Your competition is saying the same thing about their company.
Businesses today need to rethink their competitive strategy in order to create a true advantage over the competition. You need to be Uncopyable.
Why do your customers do business with you? I bet it’s because of your excellent customer service, right? Or maybe it’s that innovative product you just launched. Guess what? Your competition is saying the same thing about their company.
Businesses today need to rethink their competitive strategy in order to create a true advantage over the competition. You need to be Uncopyable.
What does that mean? Let’s take a closer look.
Advancements in technology have made it very difficult for businesses to create unique products. In fact, it’s getting harder and harder to differentiate, and if your competition can copy you, then you are not unique.
Okay, so maybe your competitive advantage is the superior customer service you provide. That may sound great, but think about it. What exactly does that mean? Do you make ordering product easy? Do you deliver on your promises? Do you quickly resolve issues when they arise? Well, isn’t that what you’re supposed to do anyway? Aren’t these the basics of customer service? Plus, I guarantee you that your competitors are also touting their amazing customer service.
And you certainly don’t want to compete based on price. That’s a losing battle.
The good news is that it’s pretty easy to break the mold and create a meaningful attachment with your customers—in other words, to become Uncopyable.
As I say in my book, Uncopyable: How to Create an Unfair Advantage Over Your Competition, “Developing an Uncopyable advantage requires creating a strategy with new, contrarian eyes—looking at your industry, your competitors, and especially your customers, through a different filter.”
Uncopyable Strategies
I believe there are essentially four strategies to becoming Uncopyable:
Branding
Stealing Genius
Experience
Storytelling
Let’s start with branding. No, this doesn’t mean stamping your logo on everything imaginable. And it goes well beyond uniquely identifying your products and services. Branding is what makes you memorable.
Think, for example, of Harley-Davidson. The Harley-Davidson brand doesn’t sell motorcycles; it sells fantasy and community. That’s what clearly differentiates it from the competition. Harley-Davidson has nailed a branding proposition that’s difficult for other companies to copy.
I would argue that effective branding is not thinking outside of the box but rather building your own box.
Effective branding is not thinking outside of the box but rather building your own box.
Next is Stealing Genius, a term I came up with. The idea is to go out and study “alien” organizations and experiences—ones that are outside of your industry. Do not rely on internal benchmarking because you never get new ideas from your competition. If you master Stealing Genius, you’ll be hard to copy.
There are several different approaches to Stealing Genius, including studying specific geniuses. Take Disney parks, for instance. What is Disney really good at? How does Disney enhance customer experience? Once you start to study Disney from such a perspective, you’ll start to see what it does that can be extrapolated to your business.
Disney is obviously just one example. There are a lot of companies that you can study and a lot of genius to steal if you keep your radar up.
Third is creating an Uncopyable experience. An Uncopyable experience is what really enables your business to build an attachment with your customers. It’s the star of the Uncopyable approach. As outlined in my book, there are a few good ways to do this, including creating an enviable club and making your customers feel like rock stars.
Then there’s storytelling, which can be an extremely powerful marketing and branding tool. Here’s the thing about stories: People connect with stories. Stories create an invisible bond between you and your customers. The fact is that every company has a story to tell, and there are at least a half dozen different types of storytelling. Which type of story does your company have?
These Uncopyable strategies are just a sampling of the tools and resources that your business can employ, whether you’re B2B, B2C, or a small or large company. Find the ideas that best resonate with you.
It’s important to point out that none of today’s Uncopyable companies have achieved their leading position through superior products or customer service. Those are easy to copy. Focus on branding, innovation, experience and storytelling to become a true differentiator. They are what make you Uncopyable.
For 25 Uncopyable Marketing Tips (FREE ebook), go to https://bit.ly/357cVYe.
To learn more about the strategies and tools to make your company Uncopyable, check out the updated and expanded edition of Uncopyable: How to Create and Unfair Advantage Over Your Competition, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, Porchlight Book Company, Google Play, Apple Books, and other fine retailers. Steve Miller is an author, a professional/virtual speaker, and a business advisor. Since founding The Adventure LLC in 1984, Miller’s consulting clients have ranged from solo entrepreneurs to Fortune 100 megacorporations, including Starbucks, Coca-Cola, and Procter & Gamble. To get a free copy of “The Old Rules of Business That Still Matter,” go to theadventure.com/sw.
The Gift of Giving by Jim Stovall
During these difficult times, we need to re-evaluate and reset our lives. In a post-pandemic world, there will be many people and causes that need your time, talent, and resources. Determine to become a giver and you will never regret it.
Photo by Suzy Hazelwood from StockSnap
This week I am excited about the release of my latest book. The Gift of Giving, which I co-authored with Don Green of The Napoleon Hill Foundation, may be the most important book among the 48 I have authored to date. First and foremost, the privilege of working with Don Green and The Napoleon Hill Foundation is unparalleled. I don’t know of any individual or organization that embodies giving more than Don and the Foundation.
Giving is one of the many paradoxes we face in our human existence. You may remember your third grade teacher explaining, “If Johnny has four apples and gives one to Mary, that leaves him with only three apples.” While this is mathematically true, it fails to take into account the intangible benefits of giving that far outweigh one apple. The equation fails to explain that Johnny is left with a sense of well-being and abundance that only comes from the process of giving our time or resources. The equation doesn’t explain that Johnny, now with his abundance mentality, will prosper more in the future and have dozens of apples to share that he might have never had without expanding his mind and spirit. Mary is left with a sense of gratitude that causes her to look at the world in more positive ways, and she becomes a success so she can, in turn, follow in Johnny’s footsteps and become a giver.
Every bit of our time, talent, and resources should be divided into three categories. Some of it is meant to be enjoyed today, some of it should be saved for our future, and some of everything we receive should be responsibly given away.
In our society, we are over-extending ourselves on spending for today. We have countless people and books wanting to advise us on how to invest for our future, but there is very little said or done regarding organized, intentional giving.
In The Gift of Giving, I recount my experience of beginning with a ten-dollar seed that grew into a commitment for a single gift of over one million dollars. It might seem outrageous or out of the realm of possibility in your life, but if you read The Gift of Giving, you will discover that you’ve never met anyone less qualified or less likely to ever have—much less give away—over a million dollars.
During these difficult times, we need to re-evaluate and reset our lives. In a post-pandemic world, there will be many people and causes that need your time, talent, and resources. Determine to become a giver and you will never regret it.
As you go through your day today, commit to experience The Gift of Giving.
Today’s the day!
Jim Stovall is the president of Narrative Television Network, a columnist, a motivational speaker, as well as a published author of many books. His latest book, co-authored with Don Green of the Napoleon Hill Foundation, is The Gift of Giving: Living Your Legacy. It is available to purchase from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, Porchlight Book Company, Google Play, Apple Books, and other fine retailers. Follow Jim on Twitter (@stovallauthor) or Facebook (@jimstovallauthor). And be sure to sign up to receive free samples of Jim Stovall’s books and audiobooks from Sound Wisdom!
The Importance of Reading by Earl Nightingale
The last time I checked the statistics I think they indicated that only about 4 percent of the adults in this country have bought a book within the past year. That’s dangerous. It’s extremely important that we keep ourselves in the top 5 or 6 percent. Reading good books is not something to indulge in as a luxury; it’s a necessity for anyone who intends to give his or her life and work a touch of quality. The truest wealth is not what we put into our piggy banks but what we develop in our heads.
The last time I checked the statistics I think they indicated that only about 4 percent of the adults in this country have bought a book within the past year. That’s dangerous. It’s extremely important that we keep ourselves in the top 5 or 6 percent. Reading good books is not something to indulge in as a luxury; it’s a necessity for anyone who intends to give his or her life and work a touch of quality. The truest wealth is not what we put into our piggy banks but what we develop in our heads.
You do not read a book for the book’s sake but for your own. You may read because in your high-pressure life, you need periods of relief, and yet you recognize that peace of mind does not mean numbness of mind. You may read because you never had an opportunity to go to college and books give you a chance to get something you missed. You may read because your job is routine and books give you a feeling of depth and life. You may read because you did go to college. You may read because you see social, economic, and philosophical problems that need solutions and you believe that the best thinking of the past ages may be useful in your age too. You may read because you’re tired of the shallowness of contemporary life, bored by the current conversational commonplaces, and wearied of shoptalk and gossip about people. Whatever your main personal reason, you will find that reading gives knowledge, creative power, satisfaction, and relaxation. It cultivates your mind by exercising its faculties.
Books are a source of pleasure—the purest and most lasting. They enhance your sensation of the interestingness of life. Reading them is not a violent pleasure, like the gross enjoyment of an uncultivated mind, but a subtle delight. Reading dispels prejudices that hem in our minds to narrow spaces. You can no more be a healthy person mentally without reading substantial books than you can be a vigorous person physically without eating solid food.
I’ve often been struck by the meager libraries of so-called business executives. I guess they believe that managerial and creative talent and know-how is supposed to come to them in dreams and that they’re somehow above the need to read the words of others. They’re quite mistaken, and they are, more often than not, holding their jobs only because of a shortage of real management talent today.
I believe you can judge the reaches of a person’s mind and capacities, as well as his or her real interests, by examining his or her library. I have known so-called experts on various subjects who don’t own ten books on that subject. They just keep saying the same things over and over again, hoping, I suppose, for a fresh audience every time they speak.
There’s only one way to obtain knowledge, and that is through study—through reading. But as [José] Ortega [y Gasset] said, “Studying is for most people like paying income taxes.” They’ll never do it unless they have to. A good idea would be to provide a bookcase in every junior office. Then, from time to time, make the rounds and watch the bookcases. Their growing contents, or the lack thereof, will give you an excellent yardstick for determining future promotion—or the lack of it.
This is an excerpt from Earl Nightingale’s The Direct Line, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, Porchlight Book Company, Google Play, Apple Books, and other fine retailers. The first beautifully packaged print edition of Nightingale’s famous audio program, this book offers a practical guide designed to help you find real and lasting success in your career, relationships, and finances. Order a copy today and begin the most exciting and rewarding journey on earth—your journey of self-discovery and personal fulfillment! Also, don’t forget the accompanying action guide, available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble!
Sign up here to receive free samples from this and other Nightingale-Conant publications.
Life’s Too Short by Jim Stovall
Your work life should be much more than exchanging your time for someone else’s money. It needs to be fulfilling and make a difference in your life as well as the lives of other people. Since we spend approximately a third of our lives at work, a third sleeping, and a third with friends and family, we should never endure a career that doesn’t fit, a mattress that isn’t comfortable, or friends and loved ones who do not make our lives meaningful.
Photo by Bruce Mars for StockSnap
Success in our personal and professional lives involves maximizing every moment, being productive, and enjoying the journey. According to a 2014 Gallup Poll, 67 percent—or fully two-thirds—of people were dissatisfied with their jobs and disengaged at work. This is a sad commentary considering that here in America at this writing, we are facing devastating unemployment, and many people would give virtually anything to get back to the good old days when they had a job.
Your work life should be much more than exchanging your time for someone else’s money. It needs to be fulfilling and make a difference in your life as well as the lives of other people. Since we spend approximately a third of our lives at work, a third sleeping, and a third with friends and family, we should never endure a career that doesn’t fit, a mattress that isn’t comfortable, or friends and loved ones who do not make our lives meaningful.
Admittedly, there are parts of any job that you may not like. I am formally trained as an investment and financial professional, but I have never enjoyed accounting. For this reason, I have structured my work life in such a way that all of my payroll, inventory, and tax accounting can be accomplished in under an hour per week. If you don’t like your job in general, you need to make a move, but if there are certain tasks or duties you don’t like, you may want to minimize or restructure them.
The most precious commodity any of us has is our time. We can’t acquire more in the future than is allotted to us, and we can’t recoup the time we have spent in the past. Therefore, we must fill each day with as much joy, contentment, and productivity as possible. Our careers should be the way we take the talents and gifts we have been given and present them to the world via the marketplace. There are no good or bad jobs. Much like a shoe store, every pair of shoes fits someone, but none of them fits every one.
Among my dear friends are people who wait tables, drive cabs, or deliver mail. These people love their jobs and find fulfillment in them every day. A good waiter can turn eating out into a dining experience. A great cab driver can make a routine ride a limousine experience, and a great postal worker or delivery person can brighten everyone’s day. There’s simply no excuse for not enjoying what you do all day every day. In the midst of making a living, we must not lose sight of creating a life.
As you go through your day today, find a career you love and you’ll never work another day.
Today’s the day!
Jim Stovall is the president of Narrative Television Network as well as a published author of many books, including The Ultimate Gift. He is also a columnist and motivational speaker. Listen to his Wisdom for Winners series on Audible. Follow him on Twitter (@stovallauthor) or Facebook (@jimstovallauthor). And be sure to sign up to receive free samples of Jim Stovall’s books and audiobooks from Sound Wisdom!
Leaders Must S.E.E. Clearly by Alyson Van Hooser
With so much nationwide turmoil potentially affecting your team (personally and professionally), it’s likely that one or more of your people are experiencing heartache, despair, stress, etc. It’s incredibly important that you as a leader appropriately show love to your employees in the way of tender communication and finding ways to help that would lighten their load and heal their hearts. A great place to start is simply asking and listening to their stories. When you ask and listen, it shows them you care…and also helps you know exactly how to take action…just two of the many benefits of a leader who S.E.E.s clearly.
Photo by Christina Morillo for StockSnap
Everything rises and falls with leadership. Especially because of recent events, if you want yourself and your team to come out of this in a positive way, you have to S.E.E. clearly. If you’re wondering how to do that, I can help.
Below is an excerpt from one of the chapters in my new book, Level Up: Elevate Your Game & Crush Your Goals, which will help you successfully navigate the multiple issues facing our country—your people—right now. I teach often on the characteristics of the five different generations in the workforce and multiple informative motivational theories, but if you’ve ever been in one of my keynote presentations or leadership training sessions, then you’ve heard me express the criticality of understanding the personal stories that have shaped your people into who they are today.
As you dig into the psyche of people, you will find outliers who don’t conform to the generational and motivational information. The outliers do not make this information obsolete at all because most of the time, the basic principles apply. However, you have to be able to recognize the outliers. If you do not, YOU MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO TRULY CONNECT WITH THEM.
[An example of an outlier might be a Gen X employee who is not an independent worker, where research suggests that the majority of Gen X adults are very independent workers. More discussion on “outliers” is featured in the book.]
Outliers will not fit the statistical norm. Why? Because something in their life has happened that shaped them into who they have become, which is different than the majority. Sociologist Morris Massey coined the term Significant Emotional Events (S.E.E.). A Significant Emotional Event is one that causes a person to question and even change their values. To create a more influential connection with people, you need to know the stories of the Significant Emotional Events in their lives—good and bad. There is information held within those stories that you will never be able to gather from science or statistics….
To truly know the people around you and understand what motivates them and what makes them tick, you have to build relationships with them. When you build a relationship established on trust, then the people around you will open up to you and allow you into their lives by sharing very real—sometimes good, sometimes tough—stories of what they have been through that have formed the why behind what they do.
With so much nationwide turmoil potentially affecting your team (personally and professionally), it’s likely that one or more of your people are experiencing heartache, despair, stress, etc. It’s incredibly important that you as a leader appropriately show love to your employees in the way of tender communication and finding ways to help that would lighten their load and heal their hearts. A great place to start is simply asking and listening to their stories. When you ask and listen, it shows them you care…and also helps you know exactly how to take action…just two of the many benefits of a leader who S.E.E.s clearly.
Alyson Van Hooser is a leadership keynote speaker and trainer on millennials, Gen Z, and women in business. With the grit that only comes from tough experiences, Alyson has learned a thing or two about personal and professional success. From her management experience with Walmart, as an elected city council member, bank manager—all before the age of 30—Alyson has wisdom well beyond her years! Her book Level Up: Elevate Your Game & Crush Your Goals is now available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, and other fine retailers. Connect with Alyson on LinkedIn and Instagram. This article originally appeared here on the Van Hooser Associates Leadership Blog and has been edited for inclusion on the Sound Wisdom Blog.
Top 10 Business Tips for Creating an Uncopyable Competitive Advantage by Steve Miller
Competition is fierce. That’s one thing all companies today can agree on. Unfortunately, in a race to outpace rivals, too many companies are stuck in a hamster wheel approach to become better than their competition. But here’s the reality: that’s a never-ending race that nobody wins.
You don’t want to be better. Better can always be one-upped, and better just isn’t good enough if you truly want to gain a competitive advantage. So what’s the answer? You must become Uncopyable.
Photo by Artsy Crafty for StockSnap
Competition is fierce. That’s one thing all companies today can agree on. Unfortunately, in a race to outpace rivals, too many companies are stuck in a hamster wheel approach to become better than their competition. But here’s the reality: that’s a never-ending race that nobody wins.
You don’t want to be better. Better can always be one-upped, and better just isn’t good enough if you truly want to gain a competitive advantage. So what’s the answer? You must become Uncopyable.
Drawing from my book Uncopyable: How to Create an Unfair Advantage Over Your Competition, I’ve outlined 10 tips for business owners looking to shatter the mold and secure a unique position in the market. Let’s take a closer look.
Top 10 Tips
Develop an Uncopyable mindset. Basically, this means look at what your competitors are doing—and don’t do it. This can be easier said than done. It requires consciously developing a practice of observation and curiosity. And I’d advise companies not to fall into the easy trap of just asking their customers what they want. They don’t know what they want. Did anyone ask for the Internet before it existed? Did anyone ask for a smartphone?
Rethink the marketing process. There’s a good chance you’re approaching marketing backwards. Marketing does not start with the medium (i.e., a bulk-mail campaign or social media). The first step in developing any marketing strategy is defining and understanding your market. This is followed by the message, media, and moment. As I discuss in my book, this model is what I call the Marketing Diamond.
Find what makes you special. Your company’s branding position goes well beyond simply uniquely identifying your products and services. It makes a clearly stated promise as to how you are different from the competition. And smart companies play up what sets them apart. If your promise isn’t exactly unique, maybe your personality is. Maybe there’s something special about your office culture. Find what makes you special.
Build your own box. Creating an effective branding proposition isn’t about thinking outside of the box but rather creating your own box. Then you fill that box with stuff that will resonate with your customers. How do you do this? In my book, I outline tools for building your unique box, including creating your own language and creating specific triggers and anchors.
Steal genius. This is a term that I came up with. The idea is to go out and study “alien” organizations and experiences—ones that are outside of your industry. Once you start to study them, you’ll begin to see what can be extrapolated and applied to your business. The main point here is do not rely on benchmarking from within your industry, because you never get new ideas from your competition.
Create an attachment. Your customers must become attached to your company, professionally and personally. I believe there are five critical pieces that go into creating attachment, one of which is a cool-kids club. Creating a club that all of your customers and prospects want to be a member of creates a personal, emotional attachment, and carries with it a perception of high value.
Create rock stars. Make your best customers feel like rock stars through VIP treatment. Take, for instance, Bass Pro Shops. They created their own rock stars: expert fisherman and women who are featured on Bass Pro’s website and brought out to conduct demos at special events. Your rock stars can be part of your club, but you must elevate them among their peers and demonstrate your appreciation and recognition.
Tell a story. People connect with stories, which makes storytelling an extremely powerful marketing and branding tool. Stories humanize a company; they show “proof” of your claim and resonate with your target market. Every company has a story to tell, and there are at least a half dozen different types of storytelling (as discussed in my book). Which type of story does your company have?
Develop referral tools. Referrals can be nerve-wracking. It can make both you and your customers feel a bit awkward. In order for referral marketing to work, you must have several things going for you, including tools you can give to customers that they can then share with prospects. For example, provide your customers with helpful articles or newsletters, or turn your trade show booth into your own live event and invite people to get their picture with the CEO or some other celebrity (people love that, and it becomes a souvenir they can display). The bottom line: When people have had a great experience with a company, they’re happy to make a referral. You just need to make it easy for them.
Do not “set it and forget it.” Nothing stays fresh and surprising forever. You must continually push the envelope and look for new ways to communicate how you are unique. Nothing, no matter how brilliant it is, is going to stay Uncopyable forever.
To learn more about the strategies and tools to make your company Uncopyable, check out the updated and expanded edition of Uncopyable: How to Create an Unfair Advantage Over Your Competition, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, Porchlight Book Company, Google Play, Apple Books, and other fine retailers. Steve Miller is an author, professional/virtual speaker and business advisor. Since founding The Adventure LLC in 1984, Miller’s consulting clients have ranged from solo entrepreneurs to Fortune 100 megacorporations, including Starbucks, Coca-Cola, and Procter & Gamble. For more information, visit TheAdventure.com.
No Risk, No Reward by Letitia Frye
How will I grow my value if I’m playing it safe?
Life is like an auction: you get your best returns if you don’t set a reserve on it. Anyone who wants to live a meaningful, fulfilling, invigorating life that makes an impression on the world must learn to live their life with no reserve.
The excerpt below is from Letitia Frye’s book No Reserve: Take Ownership and Live YOUR Life without Limitations, available now from Sound Wisdom.
From the podium a voice rings out: “Lot 1!”
You lean in to hear what item is for sale, when images from your past, present, and—seemingly—future appear on the screen.
You realize, in an uncanny turn of events, that the people around you are about to start bidding on your life, determining what value to place on it. What will it go for? you wonder. You grip the seat, anxiously awaiting to hear the starting bid. What if it sells for too low of a price?
You look around. From the looks of the scanty crowd, it appears that you might have set a reserve price at this auction, ensuring your life must reach a minimum value to sell. But the poor attendance has made you question your strategy: Whom have I excluded by restricting my reach? How will I grow my value if I’m playing it safe? What’s holding me back? Why am I not “all in”?
How will I grow my value if I’m playing it safe?
Life is like an auction: you get your best returns if you don’t set a reserve on it. Anyone who wants to live a meaningful, fulfilling, invigorating life that makes an impression on the world must learn to live their life with no reserve.
But what does that mean, exactly?
Let’s say that there’s someone who wants to sell their house for $2 million, yet they really need to move on with their life and follow their new plan. So, they decide to hire an auctioneer. They know that they do not want to take an offer under $1 million for their house. They also are scared that they may not achieve or acquire all that they need in order to succeed in their next step.
Consequently, they tell the auctioneer that they would like to set a reserve—or a minimum bid—on the sale of their property for $1 million. The auctioneer tells them that might be one of the worst decisions they could make if they truly would like to garner a high price on the sale of their home. Why would she say that? It’s because setting a limitation is tantamount to publicly declaring, “This is as far as I’m willing to go.” In other words, “I’m not willing to take a risk.” Without risk, there is little chance for great reward.
Without risk, there is little chance for great reward.
If you listen to the auctioneer, she will tell you to remove the reserve and sell the property absolute, or “no reserve.” A no-reserve auction does not have a minimum bid. It can start as low as a dollar. The reason that no-reserve auctions tend to bring in more money is that when there is no perceived limitation, there is room for chance—as in, unlimited opportunities for success. The public will come out in far greater numbers to this house sale because they think they’ve got a good shot at getting a great deal on a $2 million property. The truth is, more bodies in the room in a competitive environment means better odds that the seller will have better results. The bidding will become fast and furious, with the “hammer price,” or final sale price, reaching heights unheard of for an auction with reserve.
When there is no perceived limitation, there is room for chance—as in, unlimited opportunities for success.
Many people are risk averse, yet they talk about wanting to be an entrepreneur or desiring to take their company to the “next level.” How can you create great things in life without taking any risks? I have made a number of daring moves and bet on myself. Some of the risks were successes, and others were painful lessons—and I do not regret a single one of them. I’ve lived a life filled with unimaginable tragedy and yet incredible abundance, and my journey has taught me that if you want to live an authentic life, enjoy great success, and make a difference in the world, you have to remove your reserve, step out of your comfort zone, and seize opportunities as they come.
Currently celebrating over 16 years in the auction business and having raised over $500 million dollars for charity, Letitia Frye has truly earned her title as America’s foremost “auctiontainer.” Some of her biggest clients include St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Alice Cooper’s Solid Rock, and the Make-A-Wish Foundation®, but she brings to every event, no matter the size, her expertise, contagious energy, and unique flair. After a devastating accident in which she was struck by a car while running, leading to a traumatic brain injury, combined with the sudden death of the father of her children, Letitia decided to broaden her span beyond auctions in order to help more people by becoming a motivational speaker. Her book No Reserve: Take Ownership and Live YOUR Life without Limitations is now available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, Google Play, and Apple Books. Follow Letitia on Instagram (@letitia_frye) and Twitter (@LFAuctiontainer).
Power of a Decision by Jim Stovall
I have long believed that the world belongs to the man or woman who is willing to make a decision and stick with it. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.” Your mind is among the greatest miracles ever created. It will bring you whatever you tell it to pursue.
Photo by Kristin Hardwick from StockSnap
I have long believed that the world belongs to the man or woman who is willing to make a decision and stick with it. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.” Your mind is among the greatest miracles ever created. It will bring you whatever you tell it to pursue.
We all move toward our most dominant thought. You may not have thought about a bright red sports car in months or even years, but by virtue of the fact that you are reading this column, you are more likely to spot several of them on the road in the near future. The fact that I mentioned a specific type of automobile or the fact that you read it here doesn’t create more of those cars, but it puts that idea in your mind, and your mind focuses on whatever you direct it to bring to your consciousness.
Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come, and we become what we think about all day. This is why we need to spend a specific amount of our time each day engaging in putting positive, pure, and powerful thoughts into our mind. If you overindulge in watching news reports, you will think the whole world is going down the drain. While I believe we should stay informed and keep abreast of current events, we cannot allow news reports, Internet gossip, or social media to dominate our mind.
My company, NTN, is a part of the television industry. The industry promotes several inconsistencies in the marketplace. On one hand, programmers often show inordinate amounts of violence and destructive images, but they assure the viewing public that it’s only fiction and make-believe so it doesn’t impact children or adults who might be watching. On the other hand, this same industry tells the business community that if they will simply write a check for thousands or even millions of dollars for advertising, that brief 30- or 60-second image of their product on television screens will promote a significant rise in sales. Obviously, advertising works because marketers continue to write huge checks to get their products and services in your consciousness. You must take control of your mind and not relinquish control to media, advertisers, or anyone else.
As you go through your day today, control what goes into your mind, and you will control your life.
Today’s the day!
Jim Stovall is the president of Narrative Television Network as well as a published author of many books, including The Ultimate Gift. He is also a columnist and motivational speaker. Listen to his Wisdom for Winners series on Audible. Follow him on Twitter (@stovallauthor) or Facebook (@jimstovallauthor). And be sure to sign up to receive free samples of Jim Stovall’s books and audiobooks from Sound Wisdom!
Happy Father Figure Day by Jason Hewlett
Courage. Bravery. You Can Do This. That’s the mark of a real leader who instills confidence beyond what we actually had, and we made it down the run unscathed.
Photo by Negative Space from StockSnap
We must have been 12 years old when our Boy Scout troop first went skiing with our new scoutmaster, Rick. He seemed cool, had a great manly beard, nice dark full head of hair, a friendly smile, lived in a big house, and wore perfectly fitted clothes to church.
Thinking we were all pretty hot stuff as preteens, growing up in Park City, UT, where they give you a week off of school during the winter called “Ski Week” just to perfect your skills on the famous snowy mountains, we went up to the top of one of the toughest runs at Park City Resort and looked down at the moguls before us.
We pretended to not be scared, but this run was extra crazy. If I recall, it was called Thaynes Canyon.
To a kid, the moguls were mountains unto themselves, and watching the best of the best try this run and eventually biff it into a yard sale as we laughed from above, riding up the lift, always reminded us to take a different route down.
As our scoutmaster, Rick, looked at us, he said, “Guys, you can do this.” He must have sensed our nervousness. And then he did what Legendary Leaders do: he said, “Watch this…see you at the bottom!” and went first.
Dropping into the gauntlet, bounding through the snow like a dolphin cutting waves, Rick was headed straight for the biggest jump on the run, smack dab in the middle, as we watched in horror screaming for him to turn.
I’ll never forget the feeling of sheer terror as our only adult leader launched into the air and began turning upside down, skis over his head…
It wasn’t long until he began twisting into a 360 upside down (a maneuver called a “helicopter”); and in perfect tight form, folded his arms across his body doing this other-worldly backflip; and then spread his arms back out in triumphant glory as he landed flawlessly and continued to the bottom of the run.
Our little troop of scouts stood at the top of the mountain, stunned at what we’d just witnessed. Who in the heck is our scoutmaster, and did he just really do that!?!
We were screaming in complete excitement, cheering and jumping, giving high-fives and clapping our poles, as one by one we braved the run and steep slope, following the Legendary Leader that was soon to be one of our greatest childhood heroes.
Courage. Bravery. You Can Do This. That’s the mark of a real leader who instills confidence beyond what we actually had, and we made it down the run unscathed.
Once at the bottom of the run, Rick high-fived us for making it down, gave us a big smile, and showed admiration for a few of us who tried to emulate his grace by trying a jump on a little mogul, as we went back to the ski lift with our leader.
We asked, “How did you do that jump?”
He said casually, “I was a ski jumper working on being in the Olympics when I was younger and had some decent success at it.” He left it at that and made the day about us, never him.
This was the first time I had seen another man, other than my own Father, as someone who would become a Father Figure in my life. There have been too many to count since. I have been so very blessed with leaders, friends, mentors, those who have inspired me and been the Father Figures that have kept The Promise of being what every man can be to a kid, whether their dad or not.
Truth is, I don’t remember if Rick actually did that helicopter and full back flip as it is still burned in my mind all these decades later, but that is what I choose to remember of The Legend that was this man.
These are the Legends who make up our lives—whether they are so blessed as to have a child and get to be called Father, Dad, or whether they are the ultimate scoutmaster, coach, teacher, mentor, neighbor, and friend.
Who are your Father Figures, and how will you celebrate them this day?
Perhaps you can reach out and say “Thank you,” or even just tell the stories that you recall to your family; it is important to keep the memories alive.
I am hoping to be creating the same memories for my little ones as we go skiing and have a fun time, just without my doing back flips and trading them for backbreaking slips as we inch down the slopes. Between the trips and travel, or just being home and fully present, this is how I keep The Promise to my family as life goes along.
I’m so grateful for my own Father, John Hewlett, and that he’s still with us, while so many friends my age have lost theirs.
I’m also so grateful for the Father Figures, such as Chris Poulos, Tony Ingle, Bob Staley, Ray Limberg, Mark Dietlein, Denny Crockett, Todd Winters, Hal Johnston, Floyd Weston, Johnny Stuart, Lou Heckler, Mark Scharenbroich, Mike O’Laughlin, Rick Sutherland, Greg Ezell, Presidente Bentim, my cousins, uncles, teachers, church leaders, mentors in the speaking business, and so many who have shaped my life.
To the men reading this blog post: To whom are you acting as a Father Figure? And if you can’t think of it, it’s time to keep The Promise and find a young person who is in need of your mentoring, as only you can offer, with your unique Signature Moves.
Happy Father Figure Day! Thank you to those in my life for being a Legendary Leader who kept The Promise to me and all those you play HERO to.
Jason Hewlett is a leadership expert, author, Hall of Fame speaker, and award-winning entertainer. His book The Promise to The One is available as an e-book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, Apple Books, and other fine retailers. It will release in hardcover form in August 2020. This article originally appeared here on The Promise blog and has been edited for inclusion on the Sound Wisdom Blog. Subscribe for more inspiring content from Sound Wisdom.
3 Cs for Results-Driven Action by Alyson Van Hooser
Do you want to be more successful? Understanding the right action you need to take is critical for earning success. Without a high-level understanding of what you do and do not need to do, you’ll be left with long-term lackluster results. How frustrating that would be—for both you and your employer!
Photo by Kristin Hardwick for StockSnap
Do you want to be more successful? Understanding the right action you need to take is critical for earning success. Without a high-level understanding of what you do and do not need to do, you’ll be left with long-term lackluster results. How frustrating that would be—for both you and your employer!
I recently wrote a book titled Level Up: Elevate Your Game & Crush Your Goals (releasing June 16, 2020), and I open the entire book, laying the foundation, with the 3 Cs we’re going to very briefly discuss today.
The 3 Cs for Results-Driven Action will help you take control of your future success and eliminate wasted time and energy!
C—Correct
The first of the three Cs is: CORRECT. You must take correct action…anything else will lead you off-track from accomplishing your goals!
I suggest the first step in establishing what correct action looks like for you is to get your perspective in check. Understanding who you are, what you want to achieve, and how the world really works is key to correctly seeing what action you need to take.
How do you know if your perspective is currently correct or incorrect?
Answer this question for yourself: When is the last time I sat down and deeply analyzed who I am, my goals, and the world around me?
If your answer is never, you could be taking incorrect action.
If your answer is sometime before your mid-20s, you could be taking incorrect action. Why? The decision-making part of your brain isn’t fully developed until you’re in your mid-20s.
If your answer is 6 months ago, then you may very well be on the right track!
Hear me carefully: correct, results-driven action is critical to building the right foundation for you to grow from.
C—Calculated
Calculated action means that every action you take is on purpose, for a purpose. In other words, every word you say and move you make is to get you closer to—not further from—crushing your goals.
How do you learn what action to take and when? You must deeply understand the people around you.
Newsflash: There is no one in the world who is a self-made success! If you want to be successful, you’re going to have to be willing to learn about and work well with other people. You must deeply develop your knowledge of who the people are around you, what they like and dislike, what motivates them, etc.
Why do you need to do that?
People are forming opinions about you with every interaction they have with you. Their opinion of you matters because it determines how they treat you. They may be your door to opportunity! Make sure you’re interacting with them intentionally. And, here’s the thing: their opinion of you will have less to do with you and more to do with them…
How do you make them feel?
Do you cause them to have more/less faith in you?
Do your actions make them want to invest in or get rid of you?
That list could go on! People have different personalities, motivations, etc. You need to understand them so you can adapt your actions and create forward progress in your personal and professional life.
C—Consistent
I believe that your success hinges on your willingness to choose to be consistent. Consistent action may be the hardest part of all of this. Most people don’t consistently perform well, which is why most people are not where they want to be in life.
The key to being consistent is to stay focused on your goals. When you clearly know what it is you are trying to accomplish, you will not succumb to incorrect, uncalculated, inconsistent actions in the heat of a moment. Instead, you’ll choose the right actions, the right response, and the right decision.
My question to you is: Do you know exactly where you’re headed? Do you have a clear goal? If not, you’ll be taking a lot of action that may lead you nowhere.
I challenge you today to get serious about naming and understanding your own priorities so that when the rubber meets the road, you won’t lose your motivation and your consistency.
If you want to dig deeper into correct, consistent, calculated action that earns you the respect and trust of others, pre-order copies of Level Up for you and your team today!
Results-Driven Action for Success
The bottom line is, you can have that hunger, that burning desire, or that small voice impelling you to live your value. But that feeling alone will not get you any closer to crushing your goals. You have to take action…and by action I mean correct, calculated, and consistent action—right now. That is your only option for success. I believe we have the ability to EARN everything we want. I’m wishing you massive success!
Alyson Van Hooser is a leadership keynote speaker and trainer on millennials, Gen Z, and women in business. With the grit that only comes from tough experiences, Alyson has learned a thing or two about personal and professional success. From her management experience with Walmart, as an elected city council member, bank manager—all before the age of 30—Alyson has wisdom well beyond her years! Her book Level Up: Elevate Your Game & Crush Your Goals is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, and other fine retailers on June 16, 2020. Connect with Alyson on LinkedIn and Instagram. This article originally appeared here on the Van Hooser Associates Leadership Blog and has been edited for inclusion on the Sound Wisdom Blog.
Thank Them! – That’s Accountable Leadership by Sam Silverstein
Everyone has the ability to make a difference. This year, we have all learned that the hard way.
Three or four months ago, many people had this idea that someone who worked the checkout line at a grocery store, or someone who worked for the sanitation department collecting garbage, or someone who delivered food for people who wanted to enjoy a restaurant meal at home, or someone who worked at a similar job, was more or less tangential to the world that everyone else lived in. These workers seemed, to a lot of people, to matter less than people with fancier-sounding jobs and higher incomes.
Everyone has the ability to make a difference. This year, we have all learned that the hard way.
Three or four months ago, many people had this idea that someone who worked the checkout line at a grocery store, or someone who worked for the sanitation department collecting garbage, or someone who delivered food for people who wanted to enjoy a restaurant meal at home, or someone who worked at a similar job, was more or less tangential to the world that everyone else lived in. These workers seemed, to a lot of people, to matter less than people with fancier-sounding jobs and higher incomes.
Then the world changed, and everybody got a bit of a reality check.
What do we think about the people working at the supermarkets and the convenience stores now—the person at the cashier, and the people in the stock room, and the store manager, and everyone else who makes it possible for us to buy our groceries? What do we think of the sanitation workers now, the people who keep potentially toxic garbage from gathering in great piles in our streets? What do we think about the restaurant delivery person now, the person who is making it possible for us to at least remember what it would be like to eat out when we cannot eat out the way we want to? What about our mailperson or package delivery person? What about the person you never see who is keeping the lights on at the power plant? What about the person at the local water facility who is making sure water keeps coming out when you turn on the tap?
All of these people are heroes, and we all have good reason to notice that as we come to terms with lives being lived in entirely new ways. We find ourselves in a world where nothing and no one can be taken for granted. From one perspective, that is a hardship. But from another, it is a great blessing.
One of the critical commitments I talk about for leaders who are eager to model accountability is called “It’s All of Us.” When you make a commitment to “It’s All of Us,” you commit to acknowledging, day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, that we are all in this together. That when one of us has a problem, all of us have a problem. That when one of us succeeds, all of us succeed. There has never been a better time than now to acknowledge that, in its fullest expression, “It’s All of Us” is not just about a single team or a single company. It is about the whole human family, and it is about everyone who supports and strengthens that family.
Today would be a great day for us all to say “thank you” to someone whose contribution to your world you did not truly appreciate before the global pandemic hit. For us to look them in the eye and let them know how much it means to us that they are willing to risk their comfort, their health, and perhaps their lives to show up at work and keep society functioning. They have already shown their commitment to “It’s All of Us.” We should do the same.
Sam Silverstein is dedicated to empowering people to live accountable lives, transform the way they do business, and create a more accountable world. He helps companies create an organizational culture that prioritizes and inspires accountability. His latest book, I Am Accountable: Ten Choices That Create Deeper Meaning in Your Life, Your Organization, and Your World, is now available to buy from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, and Porchlight Books. You can follow Sam on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. This article originally appeared here on The Accountability Blog.
Returning to the Office after Remote Work? These Strategies Will Help Ease the Transition by Jennifer Janechek
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us have been working from home for the past couple of months. With restrictions loosening in many states, employees are beginning to return to the office. Although the office environment and team interactions will certainly be different, this article offers strategies not for coping with these changes but rather for making the most of the transition from remote work to in-office work.
Photo by Albert Chernogorov for StockSnap
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us have been working from home for the past couple of months. With restrictions loosening in many states, employees are beginning to return to the office. Although the office environment and team interactions will certainly be different, this article offers strategies not for coping with these changes but rather for making the most of the transition from remote work to in-office work.
Whether you have loved or hated your recent foray into telecommuting, one thing is for certain: working from home requires a different set of strategies than traditional in-office work. Help ease the transition back to the office with these principles for success:
Set your alarm early enough to protect your self-care time.
To be sure, the demands on many of us, especially parents, have been intense in these circumstances, dismissing any illusions of a purely fun-filled #coronacation. However, many of us have found a silver lining in remote work by repurposing our commute time into time to pursue activities that have been missing or underrepresented in our normal lives. Whether it’s spending more time reading, exercising, enjoying a hobby, or simply spending more time with our children, we have been able to engage in life-giving activities to help us cope with uncertainty as well as progress as individuals. Don’t let returning to work end the healthy habits you’ve created. Create protected time in your day for these behaviors by setting your alarm early enough that you can squeeze in a workout, drink your morning coffee while reading a book, etc., before you go to work. That way, you’ll feel refreshed and ready for the day instead of unhappy about being back at work.Meal prep on Sundays.
Part of what makes working in an office stressful is the hustle of actually getting there. Perpetually being in a rush impinges on our work experience, making it feel frenzied. Do as much advance work as you can to ensure you arrive at work with everything you need, including a nutritious lunch. By preparing all your lunches for the week in advance, you’ll feel less rushed, better prepared, and better fueled during your workdays.Establish a work schedule, but budget in flex time.
Remote workers often simultaneously celebrate and lament the fluidity and flexibility of their work arrangements: being able to work at any time can be both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, you might have the ability to run an errand in the middle of the day; on the other hand, you might not want to do that because it means working later in the evening and feeling responsible for answering e-mails during non-business hours. Successful remote workers know the value of scheduling their work activities in uninterrupted blocks of time and allowing for short recovery periods to enjoy the perk of flexibility. Translate this tactic into the office setting by scheduling 90-minute chunks of work time followed by 15-minute relaxation periods, as possible (it might not always be). During the recovery periods, you could scroll social media, squeeze in a quick run or power walk session, make a personal call, or attend to other tasks that would help create a better work-life integration for your in-office job scenario.Connect with family.
Yes, it’s been hard to maintain the same productivity levels at home with kids, spouses, and other people and animals requiring our attention, but we’ve grown accustomed to the extra family time, making it an adjustment to go back to working outside the home full time. For many of us, it will be important to talk with family members periodically throughout the day to diminish feelings of loneliness and distance. Use a few of your recovery periods (see strategy #3 above) to call, video chat, or text your kids, spouse—whomever—to stay connected.
This period of mass remote work has brought its challenges, but it has also brought opportunities for pivoting and reconfiguring our work strategies. As Alyson Van Hooser writes in her forthcoming book Level Up: Elevate Your Game & Crush Your Goals, “Your success depends on your willingness and ability to adapt effectively.” Adapt and thrive in whatever work environment you’re in—check out Sound Wisdom’s titles for personal development and business improvement at https://www.soundwisdom.com/publications.
Negative Bias by Jim Stovall
In my own unscientific, life-long study of human performance and success, it seems to me that most people think negative thoughts, speak negative words, and expect negative outcomes and, inevitably, they get what they expect. I have long pondered, in a world where there are so many positive thoughts and positive circumstances, why the majority of people dwell on the negative side of the equation.
In my own unscientific, life-long study of human performance and success, it seems to me that most people think negative thoughts, speak negative words, and expect negative outcomes and, inevitably, they get what they expect. I have long pondered, in a world where there are so many positive thoughts and positive circumstances, why the majority of people dwell on the negative side of the equation.
My working theory is based on the premise that human beings, during prehistoric times, lived in a hostile environment that threatened their very existence on a daily basis. Since before we human beings came together in societies and cultures, our very lives depended on constantly looking for dangerous, destructive situations and avoiding them. I have no scientific evidence to support my theory, but no one else has any evidence to refute my theory; so until there’s better research, I’m going to stick with my conclusion that human beings developed in a hostile and negative world.
Every circumstance or situation offers us the opportunity to have a positive or a negative perception. After enjoying a wonderful family meal at home, you might find yourself lamenting the negative vision of a sink overflowing with dirty dishes that you have to wash. While washing dishes is probably no one’s idea of a positive experience, let’s examine the entire picture before we draw a conclusion.
After enjoying a wonderful family dinner, you should feel very positive that you have a family, that they have food to eat, and that they are willing and able to share a meal together. Many people around the world do not have a family, don’t have enough food to eat, and are in a situation where no one wants to share a special occasion with them. As you approach the sink filled with dirty dishes, you could feel negative about the task before you, or you could feel positive because you have dishes—as well as a sink to put them in—in your modern kitchen that would be the envy of most of the seven billion people who inhabit planet Earth today.
Traffic jams may be a negative waste of time and frustration, or they could be a reminder that you have a comfortable vehicle with the fuel you need to get anywhere you might need or want to go. Tax returns can be a negative hassle or a positive reminder that you made money in the previous year and your tax dollars, along with your fellow citizens’ taxes, pay for roads, schools, and the dedicated first-responders who keep us safe as we enjoy the many positive benefits of the wonderful life we’ve been given.
As you go through your day today, remember, while there may be reasons to be negative, there are always more reasons to be positive.
Today’s the day!
Jim Stovall is the president of Narrative Television Network as well as a published author of many books, including The Ultimate Gift. He is also a columnist and motivational speaker. Listen to his Wisdom for Winners series on Audible. Follow him on Twitter (@stovallauthor) or Facebook (@jimstovallauthor).
Get Motivated to Lead While You #StayAtHome by Alyson Van Hooser
Where’s your head at right now with everything going on? Like so many people, have you defaulted to feeling overwhelmed, stressed, frustrated or demotivated?
I used the word defaulted because no one intentionally works to feel those negative feelings. They just happen; they’re most people’s default in difficult situations.
The fact of the matter is that you DON’T have to accept your default. Let me say it again for those of you who were just skimming up to this point—you don’t have to accept your default; you can flip the script!
Photo by LinkedIn Sales Navigator from StockSnap
Where’s your head at right now with everything going on? Like so many people, have you defaulted to feeling overwhelmed, stressed, frustrated or demotivated?
I used the word defaulted because no one intentionally works to feel those negative feelings. They just happen; they’re most people’s default in difficult situations.
The fact of the matter is that you DON’T have to accept your default. Let me say it again for those of you who were just skimming up to this point—you don’t have to accept your default; you can flip the script!
You don’t have to accept your default—you can flip the script!
Right now, this once-in-a-lifetime season of life is where most people will either crumble or remain static for the next several weeks or months. You aren’t called to be most people. Make no mistake, this is your opportunity to either hit home runs or let everything hit the fan. I want to help you get motivated to lead—both yourself and others—to come out from this situation better than you were before it even happened! Whether it’s business as somewhat usual for you, or if your world has been turned upside down, now is your time to shine!
Your Mindset, Your Choice
Because so many people are working from home and practicing social distancing, we are spending a lot more time looking at screens—computers, TVs, phones, etc. I saw a meme this week that made me smile. The meme said something to the extent of “Rapunzel was quarantined and she met her husband…so let’s think positive!” Although I’m not looking for a husband (I locked down one of those almost ten years ago, ha!), I am a big believer in the thought of purposefully focusing your mind on positivity. Being intentional in that way is incredibly powerful. When you own your power to choose a positive mindset, you create a breeding ground for growth and success!
Here’s what I know—most people are operating off their default mindset. When things get hard, most people default to overwhelm, stress, frustration, and mere survival. Maybe you’re there right now. If you are, I totally get it. This is a tough time for so many. But friend…I don’t want you to stay there!
Significance > Survival
Learning to control my mindset is the it-factor to crushing your goals. And what’s encouraging to me through all the struggles surrounding COVID-19 is that it’s been through the struggles in my life that I’ve grown immensely, gained the most value, and skyrocketed my momentum both personally and professionally.
Whether it was navigating poverty as a child or overcoming abandonment from my parents and then life-altering postpartum depression, etc., it is in the times where normalcy has been ripped out from under me that I had the life-changing choice to either spend my days struggling to survive or fighting to create significance.
Isn’t that what we are all experiencing right now with #COVID-19…a hard place where normalcy has been ripped out from under us?
So I ask you again—where’s your head at right now? Are you defaulting to struggling to survive or are you thriving by working from a place of creating significance?
Here’s the thing, when you operate in survival mode, it’s like you’re treading water. You can’t tread water forever! Eventually you tire out, give up, and go down.
When you shift your mindset from survival to operating from a place of creating significance during hard times, you increase the momentum in your life to emerge stronger, smarter, and better than you were before. You make the difficult times mean something positive!
Shifting your mindset is not a matter of how you feel, either. It’s a matter of how you take action. You may not feel like stepping up to the plate and making this a positive season in your life and for the people around you. Do it anyway!
Stand and Serve
In this season when so much feels uncertain, as if the ground is shaking, it’s time for you to choose to stand…stand and serve.
Most people are:
looking for ways to take care of themselves right now, not others
doing what they can to get by instead of doing what they can to create a better tomorrow
will come out of this season of life worse or no better off than they were before.
You don’t have to be most people! The steps you should take are steps that anyone could take, everyone should take, but very few will take. Whether you feel like it or not, if you choose to take action and step up during this time, it will all be worth it.
I’m a full-time author, speaker and trainer on leadership. I’m incredibly passionate about developing leaders because leaders have the potential to positively change the trajectory of people’s lives. Leadership is an incredible responsibility and honor! The world needs more great leaders and it simply starts with a person’s choice to say yes to leadership. I want to challenge you to stand up and say “yes” today.
Regardless of your position within an organization, you have influence with people around you. Up to this point, your influence may be good, bad, small, or large. If you choose to take action to SERVE the people around you, your influence will grow in a positive way and you’ll begin blazing a trail for yourself to becoming a great LEADER. It’s during the hard times like we’re experiencing right now that great leaders become easily recognizable. This is your opportunity to shine…to earn increased trust, respect, and loyalty from your people by serving them well. This is your time to crush your goals while helping others crush theirs.
Service Increases Motivation
I mentioned earlier that you may not feel like stepping up and leading right now. I believe to my core that those who want success, fight for it even when they don’t feel like it…even when it’s hard, even when they shouldn’t have to, even when someone else should step up. You need to act the way you want to feel right now. When you do that, eventually the results of your actions will fuel you into a more positively motivated state.
Think about this for a second…I want you to focus your mind on serving the people around you. Why? Because when you focus your mind on serving other people, suddenly there’s very little space in your mind or time in your day to be worrying about how you’re being negatively affected through hard times. Instead, serving others becomes the action that will steadily increase your motivation!
“Serving others becomes the action that will steadily increase your motivation!”
Because you have influence with the people around you—which means you are a leader– it’s your responsibility to lead yourself and your people well. The people you’re leading may be yourself, your co-workers, your employees, and even your boss. Regardless, it doesn’t matter who you’re leading, it matters what you do with this opportunity.
Ways You Can Serve Your People
Here are some practical actions you can start taking today to better lead yourself and your people. Anyone can take these actions, all leaders should take these actions, but only the best-of-the-best leaders will actually take these positive actions during this difficult time. I believe you are destined to be among the best-of-the-best, so let’s dig in!
Be the light for your people.
For many, this feels like a dark time. Be the light. Lead your people to the light. How do you do that?
First, you have to get your own mind right. You need to limit and purposefully choose what you hear, see, and say right now. Listen to music that has a positive message, only look at social media accounts that will bring positivity into your mind, find one news source you trust and only consume that one source once a day for a very limited time. Turn off and unfollow anything that doesn’t fit that description of what you should be hearing and seeing right now.
Once you’ve set those things in place for yourself, share the light with your people. Add appropriate joy and humor to your everyday interactions—e-mails, Zoom, face-to-face interactions if you’re still having those, etc.
Focus on becoming the light to your people. Give yourself and them a reason to smile and laugh. You’ll help yourself and others relieve stress…and while that is great for a person’s mental health, it is also great for a person’s professional performance (I won’t bore you with the science to back that up right now)!Dream for your people.
Many of your people are operating in survival mode where they cannot dream for themselves, but as a leader you can and you should!
So where do you start?
Think about your team’s goals prior to COVID-19, think about your team’s strengths both before COVID-19 and the ones that emerged amid COVID-19, and then be innovative! What new, more efficient and productive processes can you implement after this is over? What new strategies can you set in motion to escalate performance? The list can go on and on.
This is where you as a leader have the opportunity to shine. Think about the things other people aren’t taking the time to think about right now! Be the person that takes yourself, your people, and your company to places no one had even imagined before!Be steady for your people.
Your people cannot predict what the company, governor, or president is going to do or decide next. Proper communication is the antidote to the stress that uncertainty brings. As a leader, be the calm in this storm.
Schedule regular communication with your people. Communication time where you tell them what you know. Schedule enough time where you allow them to ask all of their questions and voice their concerns.
People are starving for great leadership right now. You can be the solution they need with steady communication.
This Is Your Time—Get Motivated!
As a leader, I’m believing that this is going to be the season of life where you step up in a big way and lead your people to feel and accomplish incredible things. All it takes is a choice from you…a choice to say “yes” to taking action to serve the people around you. When you do that, whether you’re in the office or working from home, you’ll reignite your motivation and take back control of your success! This is your time.
Alyson Van Hooser is a leadership keynote speaker and trainer on millennials, Gen Z, and women in business. With the grit that only comes from tough experiences, Alyson has learned a thing or two about personal and professional success. From her management experience with Walmart, as an elected city council member, bank manager—all before the age of 30—Alyson has wisdom well beyond her years! Preorder her book Level Up: Elevate Your Game & Crush Your Goals on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, and other fine retailers. Connect with Alyson on LinkedIn and Instagram. This article originally appeared here on the Van Hooser Associates Leadership Blog.
A Tale of Two Employees by Jason Hewlett
“I hate going to work every day,” he quickly admitted after our call had just begun. “It’s like they know I’m needed to fill a spot, but I don’t feel needed in any other way. It’s like they don’t see what I could bring, my unique skill set and experience. I don’t know how much longer I can take this.”
Photo by Kristin Hardwick for StockSnap
“I hate going to work every day,” he quickly admitted after our call had just begun. “It’s like they know I’m needed to fill a spot, but I don’t feel needed in any other way. It’s like they don’t see what I could bring, my unique skill set and experience. I don’t know how much longer I can take this.”
That was quick, I thought, as I searched for what to ask next.
“What do you feel you could personally bring different to your job if the opportunity were offered you?” I asked.
“Actually, that’s the problem, I don’t even know at this point. I feel engaged, but it’s like I’m actively disengaged in doing nothing productive. That’s terrible, but it’s the truth,” he admitted.
I probed further, “Like what? What are you doing that’s disengaged from your work?”
He offered, “Well, for example, I take extra long to finish a project just to fill the time. I scroll on my phone and look at social media most of the day. I respond in short answers to emails and requests that I feel don’t fit my skill set. Anything I don’t want to do I make it painful for everyone to expect me to do. I let everyone know I’m not easy to work with, and I wear that on my sleeve.”
I confessed, “Thank you for admitting that. At least you are aware you’re doing these things. Would you be willing to change that behavior at some point?”
He replied, “Of course, if they’d just let me do what I do best.”
I asked, “Do you feel this is a practice unique to you on your team, or are others doing and feeling the same?”
I could hear him thinking over the phone.
“Yes, most of us on this team are like that, I’d say, because our manager doesn’t even know what we would be better at bringing to the table,” he finally admitted.
In essence, he was feeling guilt for a lack of integrity in work time spent, knowing full well he could have been doing more, but was merely putting in the time to keep a job. Active disengagement due to a lack of leadership from a manager who didn’t see him as a person but rather as a means to an end.
Lacking purpose, this 40-something-year-old had become one of the 87 percent Gallup finds are actively disengaged at work, costing the US economy trillions annually. Conversely, Harvard Business Review shows that performance is increased by 33 percent in employees who are actively utilizing their skill set and purpose in the onboarding process, resulting in billions of dollars gained when leaders can keep a new employee actively engaged from the moment of hiring.
What is The Promise of The Leader in this instance?
Admit an incongruence in engagement, and then help the disgruntled employee rediscover their purpose, share their unique strengths, and add life to a waning team.
Employee Example #1
Employee 1 was recommend to go through the revolutionary ICM (IDENTIFY • CLARIFY • MAGNIFY) Process along with his manager, and now they are in a mentoring relationship that offers both great purpose and satisfaction, resulting in a renewed lifeblood for the team and entire company, which in turn will benefit everyone in the long run. Projects finished quicker, creativity encouraged, accountability ensured. Happiness at work at an all-time high. This is The Promise of Leadership and Engagement.
Employee Example #2
Sitting next to her I could feel the positive energy and encouraging power she exuded over her influence in the workplace. As she spoke about her intentions and excitement for every day, I was also more focused to do my job well as a consultant. Being hired to come in and determine the challenges in the company, I was referred to her as the example of what can happen when one person discovers their Leadership Promise. How refreshing to see what was possible when an employee knew her reason for being an important part of making the engine go.
“How did you get to this place of being so satisfied with your work? You seem to be in a space of complete dedication to your work and excited for it every day,” I asked in all sincerity.
“Oh that’s easy,” she said. “I noticed my co-workers were struggling to find meaning in our projects, completing tasks in a timely manner for end users, and were losing morale. So I took them through the ICM Process over the course of an entire quarter.”
“And what did you find?” I wondered aloud.
“It’s incredible what happens to the engagement of employees when they know their purpose and not only know what they should be doing, but are encouraged to do what they’ve identified as what they are best at contributing,” she stated matter of factly.
“Can you show me how you took them through this?” I questioned, almost desperately.
“Sure, it’s simple. The ICM Process is:
IDENTIFY, or discover, your Strengths, Talents, Gifts, and Skills
CLARIFY, or Refine, with your co-workers (we prefer to call them The Family at Work)
MAGNIFY your Promise
…once all of this is complete, we discuss it as a Family at Work (our Team) and make sure everyone is utilizing their Signature Moves every day in every interaction. It’s our Promise Proclamation!” she exclaimed.
I sat there stunned. How simple of a concept, and yet how profound.
Giving time to all employees to discover and IDENTIFY their talents, gifts, strengths, and skills…
Confirming and refining those through a CLARIFY exercise with co-workers…
MAGNIFYING the words they identify and clarify as their own, which becomes their Signature Moves they are uniquely known for, becoming the effective Leaders they were born to be.
“How did you come up with this ICM Process?” I asked, “Did you hear it somewhere or read it in a book?”
She admitted, “I saw a speaker share it at a conference I attended a while back. He promised it would change our lives if we tried it out for ourselves. It worked so profoundly in my life that I decided to bring it to work. We are now in the top 3 percent of our company in sales, attendance, performance, and the most committed to each other of any team I’ve seen. Before we were in the bottom 25 percent. This ICM Process works!”
“Where can I learn more about this and is there a workbook for it?” I asked.
She looked around her desk, and then said, “Oh, here, it’s in this book. It’s not even released yet, but they gave us a copy at our event. Chapter 2 is the ICM Process. I recommend everyone try it and figure out their Promise.”
“Where can I buy this book?“ I inquired.
“The Speaker said it’s not available yet, but will be soon. Seriously though, it’s such a simple concept, the ICM Process, most people don’t even try it out. After seeing the profound effect it had on our team, I took it home and my family went through it. It changed the lives of my children and spouse as well. You should do it,” she said.
“I will,” I proclaimed.
“Do you Promise?” she asked.
E-book Set for Release on May 13, 2020
Jason Hewlett is a leadership expert, author, Hall of Fame speaker, and award-winning entertainer. His book The Promise to The One is available as an e-book on May 13, 2020, from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, Apple Books, and other fine retailers. It will release in hardcover form in August 2020. This article originally appeared here on The Promise blog and has been edited for inclusion on the Sound Wisdom Blog.