Blog Archives
The Destructive Nature of Can’t
Short and sweet, yet very powerful message. Are you a “Can” or a “Can’t?”
Source: The Destructive Nature of Can’t
Down, Down But Not Out!
I LOVE golf, and I love following Mike Weir, one of Canada’s national sports treasures.
He accomplished the unthinkable in 2003 and won the Master’s Golf tournament, the most coveted championship in all of golf. He put in a few more good years, and then the wheels fell off. An elbow injury, swing changes, loss of confidence.
It went from bad to worse and then finally, he almost fell off the map. He had more money than he could ever dream of, and could have packed it in and lived happily ever after. But this was golf, this was all he knew, this was what he LOVED to do. Well it all paid off last weekend. He was one shot back in the final round of the Byron Nelson tournament with a chance to win. He played a fantastic round, and came up two shots short. A bounce here and there and he would have won.
Check out these two articles about his exciting weekend and 2nd place cheque for $750,000.
http://www.tsn.ca/golf/story/?id=452539
The best part of the story was seeing the smile on his face as he walked off the course and was interviewed after the round. The feeling of self-satisfaction must have been overwhelming.
Don’t quit… EVER
Things will get difficult along the way
But think about the FANTASTIC feeling you will have when you get where you want to go!
I don’t care if you are starting a business, growing an existing one, or making time in your life to do things that you really want to do.
This is your one shot, so you might as well make the most of it.
Mike Weir did and he is finally LOVING what he has always wanted to do in this lifetime again – play golf 🙂
Do You Play To Win, or Play Not To Lose?
I recently watched a lot of the Olympics, and was thinking about this post the other day. Wanted to share it once again!
When I first heard this statement with respect to a professional hockey team’s play, I stopped in my tracks. On the surface, it seems like the same concept spun two different ways. Or is it?
Playing to win exudes confidence. There is nothing that can get in the way of the team and victory. They execute the game plan to perfection, and do whatever it takes to achieve their goals. Mistakes may still happen, but they get back on track in a timely fashion. It is clear in their body language that nothing less than success will be accepted by everyone.
On the other hand, the team playing not to lose exudes tentativeness. Their primary goal is to not make mistakes and look foolish in front of teammates and coaches. In their minds, if they don’t make any mistakes, they should win. On paper that makes sense. Those who follow sports hear this often, but if the other team plays an all round better game, you will still lose. Body language supports the theory that they are just trying not to screw up, and it shows.
Take a moment and step back to think about your current sales or business role. Do you always feel like you are on top of your “game” and nothing can stop you? If you do, congratulations! If we are honest with ourselves, most of us go through phases when we lack confidence and just feel like everything we touch turns in to…. well not gold.
Do you notice when things are going well, mistakes and other challenges in your role do not take as big a tole on you? It seems no matter the size of the setback, you can move past it in record time. Now turn the tables. When things are not going well, and confidence is low, even the little things seem like huge issues. The world seems to be against you, and it is nearly impossible to get out of the funk.
- Are you playing to win, or playing not to lose?
- Are you afraid to make mistakes, and worry how it will look to teammates and management?
- Or do you understand that mistakes happen, learn from them, and move on as quickly as possible?
- Do you approach your role everyday with confidence, a bounce in your step, and the mindset of “I can do this?”
- Or do you plod along as you always have; do the same things that you have always done, and just try not to screw up?
“Playing not to lose” is a career limiting decision (CLD). You will feel safe, and your results may be consistent, but your true potential will not be achieved. If you just sit back and watch, you will witness others getting all the glory!
“Playing to win” is a mindset. The Edmonton Oilers, New York Yankees, New England Patriots & Manchester United have not won all of those champions with the attitude of playing just to survive. Playing to win is imperative in anything that you do. It is an attitude that should make you feel unstoppable throughout your career.
Dumb and Dumber
Dan Rockwell, aka “The Leadership Freak” had me at “Dumb and Dumber”! I love the premise of this post, and how it relates to always trying to find answers. Enjoy and have a fantastic day!
The same people sitting around the same table produce the same results. It’s dumb to think otherwise.
It’s even dumber to expect the people who caused the problem to solve it.
The future is the past without intervention.
Working harder, if you’re already working hard, won’t change much.
Efficiency is never the path to exponential change.
Hope for dumb and dumber:
- Identify an opportunity. Drucker said, “Results are obtained by exploiting opportunities, not by solving problems.” Leaders who only point out problems lose.
- Entrenchment produces resistance. Expect entrenched people to resist change. Rotate jobs and modify job descriptions.
- Don’t rely on working harder. Hard work got you here. Sincerity and good intentions won’t work either.
- Embrace the pain. Your leadership contributed to the results you currently enjoy. Disappointing results point to unsatisfactory leadership. The more control you have the more responsible you are.
- Determine what to stop. Stopping is…
View original post 163 more words
Your “Indefinite Unsettledness” Will End – Mine Did!
Do you ever not feel quite right? Things just aren’t as they should be? Maybe it only lasts a day, perhaps a week, month or possibly even years. I had these feeling about my career for a little less than 3 years.
It was October of 2009 that I lost my job, and it sucked. It sucked big time, but I shook it off and was back to work two months later. But that job did not work out, nor did the second, or the third! I had worked for one company for almost eight years before that, and had never categorized myself as a quitter, but I became quite self-conscious with all the changes. But I kept fighting, and believing in myself that I could do whatever I wanted with my career and life.
I stayed in touch over the past three years with a manager at an account during that time period before I was fired. I would stop by, catch up, try to sell him products and services that I was representing at the time. He was never far from my thoughts. We had discussed me coming to work with his company on several occasions, but the timing was never right.
Well that time has finally come and I start my new role on November 1st with that organization. A huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders, and I can look forward to work again every day from the moment my feet hit the floor each morning. When you change jobs every year for three years, you start to feel a little lost and temporarily forget what made you successful in the past.
Whatever “indefinite unsettledness” you may be feeling, it will go away, I promise you that. But only if you work at it. I had some horrible days; weeks for that matter over the past three years, but I never gave up. In fact, the best thing that came out of these past three years was picking up a note pad and pen, and starting to write. Now I have this blog, I am in Toastmasters, and I look forward to writing a book, possibly training, teaching and speaking to others somewhere down the line.
As abrasive as it sounds, you need to have that moment where you say something like “screw it, I know I can do this“. And keep fighting for what you really want.
Good luck and remember, if I can get past my “indefinite unsettledness”, so can you!
My Guest Post – Confidence Means Everything
Kevin and Leanna over at the blog “The League of Champions” reached out to me a few weeks ago, and I am so glad that they did.
They did a guest post on my blog, and now I have done the same on theirs. I really enjoy their content, and highly recommend that you check them out if you have not already.
Here is the link to my post on confidence. I hope you like it!
http://theleagueofchampions.com/2012/08/09/confidence-means-everything-guest-post-by-tim-mushey/
Jeffrey Gitomer Video – Positive Mental Attitude
It is easy to overlook our attitude and assume that we are as positive as we need to be. I came across this very popular Jeffrey Gitomer video recently and it provided me with some great insight. I hope it does the same for you. Take 5 minutes for a quick “attitude check”!
Sell, Lead, Succeed! 