Posted on Monday, July 15, 2013

Ideas To Action Challenge

Often the difference between a successful person and a failure is not one of better ideas or abilities, but the courage that one has to bet on one’s idea, to take a calculated risk – and to act. Andre Malraux

Have you got the courage to join me on a journey that could change your life forever? Yes change your life forever.

Ideas to action is all about you taking action on your dreams.

Think for a minute what would happen if you took action on your ideas? While you may not emerged as the next Bill Gates or Warren Buffett, you certainly will end up better off than you are today. You will have a wealth of experience that will make your chances of success in your next endevour greater than it is at the moment. You will learn valuable lessons along the way. You will know what works and what does not. And there is the odd chance that you could turn out to be the next Mark Zuckerberg.

The Story of Alan

Alan is employed but hates his job. He knows for certain that he is capable of a lot more than he is doing at the moment. For many years, Alan wished he could start his own business, but he did not have the courage to quit his current job and start. So he remains at his job.

Alan has read many books on how to start a business. Alan has attended several courses on starting your own business. Alan has written several business plans. Non of them detailed. But nonetheless they would pass the good business plan test. Alan has never taken action on any of his business ideas so he cannot be sure which business would work.

Alan continues to remain a grumpy employee who believes he and not his boss should be leading the department.

The Story of Joe

Joe is self employed and works crazy hours. He has to. Joe is very good at what he does. All of Joe’s work comes from customer recommendation. Joe knows that to grow his business, he needs to take on additional help. But Joe is hunted by the thought of training someone up only for that person to run off with some of his customers. So he takes no action.

Three years on, Joe is still self employed. He has increased his hourly rate so his income and his taxes have increased. Joe hasn’t had a holiday in the last three years.

The Story of Helen

Helen is an ambitious individual who has toyed with the idea of doing something new and different for the last two years. She enjoys her work, but knows that there is much more to her life than what her job offers.

Helen carries a note book with her at all times. That”s where she writes all her thoughts and ideas.

Helen is aware of the need to reduce the numbers of hours she works in her present job to create time to work on her ideas. Yet the thought of a reduced pay cheque against the backdrop of increasing expenses holds her back from taking action on her ideas.

Helen is still gainfully employed in a job she loves. Once in a while she wishes she was doing something else.

Your Story

What’s your story? Have you got any ideas, dreams or projects which if you succeed in implementing in the next 12 months will make a big difference in your life? If yes, then consider taking the ideas to action challenge.

Watch this space.

Let’s hear from you by leaving a comment or dropping me an email at info@leadinglikeachampion.com.

Posted on Wednesday, July 10, 2013

#2. Leadership 101 Series

Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

#6. Visionary

The vision of the leader sets the tone and provides a sense of direction for the organisation. You the leader must have the ability to galvanise your team effort behind the vision and thus propel your organisation into the future you have envisaged.

Many will look up to your leadership for direction in their own personal lives. When people commit to a vision, they commit to a person. That is you the visionary. They look to hear what you have to say, how you say it and what you do after you have said it.

Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela envisaged a world that was completely different from the one they lived in. They inspired their followers to take action at great cost to make that vision a reality.

Take a look into the future. What do you see? The further in the future you can see, the better the quality of your decisions today that brings you closer to the future you envisage.

#7. Goals

Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible. ~ Tony Robbins

Goals are like magnets that draw out the potential for achieving great things that can lie dormant inside of you. Your goals are the markers on your road to success.

You must have goals. They may be as simple as a list of things you want to achieve. They must be realistic and they must make you draw from the strength you did not know you have.

If you set out to achieve nothing, that is precise what will happen. You will achieve nothing. If you have your goals written out, you have a plan of action for achieving these goals and you have the discipline to follow your plan, then you are on your way to being a successful entrepreneur.

#8. Strategy

All men can see these tactics whereby I conquer, but what non can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved. ~ Sun Tzu

Strategy deals with the long term direction. Is the lack of strategic leadership a contributory factor to why small businesses stop growing? One thing is for sure, growth is not automatic. You need a strategy and a plan for your’s and your organisations growth.

The only way to shake of the ‘small’ label attached to you and your organisation is to grow, grow and grow. How do you plan to grow?

You take a position in relation to the future opportunities and threats you and your organisation will face. You then commit resources today to position yourself to whether the storm or take advantage of the opportunities that will present itself.

#9. Team

I need to give power to other people, allowing them the creativity and freedom to explore new ideas and ways of thinking. ~ Jill Cleveland

Leadership is a team effort not a solo expedition. Leaders know they cannot do it alone. You the leader must therefore develop the ability to get the best out of others.

The foundation of your team effort is the building of trust. With trust comes the ability to engage in real dialogue around issues. Everyone has to pull his or her weight. This requires commitment to the success of the team or the achievement of vision.

You the leader must inspire your team to rise to heights far beyond the sum of their individual efforts. To quote a chinese proverb:

If you are planning for one year, grow rice. If you are planning for twenty ears, grow trees. If you are planning for centuries, grow men

#10. Emotional Intelligence

Leaders lead people and not organisations. Humans are emotional beings. We think with our head but we act with our heart. Your emotions and the emotions of the people you lead matter.

Emotional Intelligence is your ability to recognise and understand emotions in yourself and others and your ability to use this awareness to manage your behaviour and relationships. Saying the right thing at the wrong time can lose you a client. Resist the urge to say it as it is.

You inability to control your bouts of anger will get you passed over for the promotion that you have worked hard for.

Getting ahead in life requires more than a high intelligence quotient IQ score. You also have to have a high EQ or emotional quotient.

How do you inspire your Team?

Posted on Monday, July 8, 2013

Stand Up and Speak – How to Choose Your Topic.

So you have summed up the courage to stand up and speak. You have decided to take up the challenge to elevate your career and overcome your fear of public speaking.That is a good thing.

You have decided to do something about your speaking skills, because you know the benefits of good speaking skills. What next for you?

Except for impromptu speaking, you will need to do some preparation before speaking. Your preparation will include:

Selecting a Topic
Creating an outline
Writing your speech
Practicing your speech
Delivering your speech
Evaluating your speech.

Today we will be looking at how to decide what to talk about. Remember that speaking is only a means of communicating a message. So avoid telling yourself that you can speak. You speak on a subject in which you are an authority.

How to Select A Topic

1. You Are Given The Subject To Speak On

You might be given a subject to speak on. This will make your choice of subject or topic easier but it does not make your speech preparation any easier. You will need to find out as much as you can about your topic. The internet is the easiest place to get information. However you do need to check you facts.

2. You Have To Choose A Subject

In choosing a subject, you will need to consider:

Your Purpose

Here are some types of speeches

Sell a product
Provide information that is
- Technical
- Non Technical
Business Proposal
Inspire your listeners to raise to another level
Motivation for change
To persuade to your course
To entertain

Who will be in your audience?

Young people
Adults
Male
Female
Mixed
Cultural background
Religious considerations

How about You

Your knowledge of the topic
Your enthusiasm about the topic
The interest it will generate in your audience.

Where to find Topic ideas

Personal everyday experiences
Hobbies and recreational interests
Discussions with friends and work collegues
Books and magazines you read
News and events

Keep an ideas file

This is a very useful tip. You never know when you have to stand up to speak especially at short notice. Getting into the habit of writing down and filing your ideas for later use is good practice.

Do you have your own way of deciding on a topic? Why not tell us by leaving a comment.

Posted on Friday, July 5, 2013

#1. Leadership 101 Series

The future belongs to those who see possibilities before they become obvious~ John Scully

#1. Vision

A vision is not just a picture of what could be. It is an appeal to our better selves, a call to become something more.

Your vision for your life and for your business is the future desired outcome you want. It need not be related to your present reality because you have in you the ability to create something from nothing.

My question is not do you have a vision? Rather I would ask do you know where you are going with your life, your business or your finances. If you continued on the same road doing the same things, you are bound to get the same results.

Take a moment to picture where you will be in five years, ten years and fifty years? If you don’t like what you see, then take some time to create a new future for yourself, your family and your business.

#2. Dreams.

All dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them~ Walt Disney

The real power of your dreams is in your ability to articulate it and share it with someone. Finding the right words to represent what you see in your dreams can be difficult. But you must share it with someone. This helps you to move it from your head to your mouth and back through your ears as you are reenergised by what you hear.

If you cannot find the right words, use whatever words come to mind. Don’t let your dream die in you. In the words on an unknown author, many dreams die because they are kept within… Dreams are opportunities waiting to happen.

Take a few minutes today and dream about the future of this Planet.

#3. Pleasant To Be Around

Peoples personalities, like buildings, have various facades, some pleasant to view, some not. ~ Francois de La Rochefoucauld.

Are you pleasant to be around? Do people enjoy your company? This can be a blind spot for you. You just may be scoring yourself more points on the likability scale than you should.

People are more interested in themselves than in you. So if you are that person who is interested in others, you will immediately move up their likability scale.

Developing an interest in others will mean that you have to take time to ask the right questions and to listen to understand and to know what is it that others care about.

#4. Understanding People

When dealing with people, let us remember we are not dealing with creatures of logic. We are dealing with creatures of emotion, creatures bristling with prejudice and motivated by pride and vanity ~ Dale Carnegie

Human beings are the pride of Gods creation and they defy logic, do stupid things and can be cruel to one another. But deep down when all the bravado is gone, they are fun to be around.

My question to you is, do you understand people? If your answer yes, then good for you. If your answer is no, you are not alone. To achieve great things in life, you will need people either as partners, customers or investors.

You cannot get away from people so don’t try and lock yourself up on a deserted island. It’s no fun. Accept the fact that there will always be people to share this world with you. Don’t try and change them, just make the effort to understand them and then get on with doing life with people.

#5. Persevere

Many of life’s failures are people who did not realise how close they were to success when they gave up ~ Thomas A. Edison

Many in your team will be looking up to you to lead by example. When you decide on a course of action, how soon do you change your mind.

I used to have the habit of working on more than one project at a time. To some people, this shows a lack of focus. To others this is multitasking.

The weakness of this multi-project strategy is that if I hit an obstacle in one or if it is taking too long to achieve the desired result, I have a tendency of abandoning the difficult one and continuing with the not so difficult one. I am now learning to persevere and see my ideas through to a logical conclusion. Using the Lean Startup methodology, you can come up with realistic points at which you decide to persevere or pivot.

How about you? Do you persevere in the face of obstacles and difficulties.

Posted on Monday, July 1, 2013

Book Review – The Lean Startup by Eric Ries

THE LEAN STARTUP

Start up success is not a consequence of good genes or being in the right place at the right time. Start up success can be engineered by following the right process, which means it can be learned, which means it can be taught. ~ Eric Ries

There are many who will believe that startup success is about having the right products and being in the right place at the right time. Eric Ries in the Lean Startup agues that business success can be engineered by following a set of principles that get you to start small, start quick and go through several iterations.

Lean Startup is about learning what your customers really want. Its about testing your vision continuously, adapting and adjusting before its too late.

Eric Ries introduces five principles of the lean Startup. You can read about them in the book. I would like to talk about five keys I have leant from the book.

Key #1. Experiment

Every stage in your product or business development cycle is an experiment. You define your hypothesis, that is what is it you want to find out? Then you build the product, version or implement the business process. You measure your results and you learn.

The Build-Measure-Learn feedback loop as Reis calls it is the core of the Lean Startup Model.

Key #2. Develop a Minimum Viable Product MVP

I like the concept of a minimum viable product. This would be the no frills version that allows you to test your hypothesis. Because every stage of your product or business development is an experiment, you need to get your product in front of your customers in a real market and not a test market as quickly and at as low a cost to you. This Is good because you don’t need all the money in the world to do this. You just need to have a clear idea of the minimum features to have.

Key #3. Be Prepared To Pivot or Persevere

Every business person at some point will come to this crossroad. I have had to ask myself the simple question “am I making sufficient progress to justify my continuing on this path. Or do I need to make a major change. The Lean strartup method advocates a more scientific and objective approach to this decision. Innovation accounting according to Reis helps you measure your startup progress and you will have to decide if there is any real progress. This helps take out the emotions involved in your decision to continue on the current trajectory or to curse correct on a major basis.

Key #4. Identify Your Engine of Growth

This is a reality check for all businesses. You cannot remain a start up forever. You need to find your engine of growth and then ride it. Reis talks about three engines of growth. You will need to get the book to read more about these three.

The Sticky Engine of Growth
The Viral Engine of Growth
The Paid engine of gGrowth

Key #5. Innovate

According to Reis, to grow and thrive, businesses will need to evolve into organisations that learn how to successfully balance the needs of existing customers with the challenges of finding new customers to serve. You will need to effectively manage the existing lines of business while experimenting with new products.

You cannot continue experimenting with your product since you already have established customers who are happy with the look and feel of your product. You cannot however rely on this. You have to make the shift into portfolio thinking and always have new products in the pipeline. Constant innovation will help you maintain create a product portfolio.

Not a How to Manual

The Lean startup is not an how to manual so you will not find in it the seven steps to a perfect startup. And the lean start up approach does not guarantee startup success. It just helps you find out if your assumptions are wrong as quickly and as cheaply as possible.

The book is filled with examples and stories from Reis’s life experience as an entrepreneur and from the experience of many others who have employed the lean startup approach to business development.

Whatever you believe about business startup success, this book is worth your time and money.

Leave a comment if you have read this book.

Posted on Wednesday, June 26, 2013

10 Reasons To Have Written Goals

People with clear written goals accomplish far more in a shorter period than people without goals can ever imagine ~ Brian Tracey

Goals are the foundation of your dreams and the driving force behind your desired lifestyle. Whether your have an ambition to run a marathon or take up heathy eating , setting goals and having them written down will increase your chances of achieving success.

If we all agree that goals are important to success, why do many people not have goals? Of the people that have goals, only a few have written goals and fewer still regularly review their goals and plans.

Whatever your reasons for not having a written goal, let me give you 10 reasons why you should have written goals for all areas of your life.

Take Charge And Take Control Of Your Life

Your decision to set a goal or goals is an indication that you have made the choice to take control of your life. You have decided to be intentional about your life and about achieving your dreams and desires.

There are two kinds of people and businesses. Those who get what they want and those who take what they get.

The act of goal writing means you are no longer leaving events to chance. You are no longer living life by default but are actively engaged in the design of the life and lifestyle you want.

Create The Future You Desire

Goal setting and writing will help you take a good look at your future. If you don’t like what you see, then you have the opportunity to design the ideal future for yourself. This is also called having a vision for your life.

I must add a word of warning here. Just because you have created an ideal world is no guarantee that you will end up in the place as you have envisaged. But your long term vision will serve as a catalyst that provides the motivation you need in the short term for goal achievement.

Most people will spend more time planning for their next holiday than planning for their financial future. Take some time to think beyond your next holiday and develop a plan for your life.

Recover From Setback And Move Forward

Many things happen to us in our lives that we have no control over. One thing in our control is our response to events that happen to us.

With goals in place, you are able to view an adverse event as a temporary setback. If you have to amend your goals in the light of new information, you are equipped to do so.

Sometimes, there is no need for a change direction. But a change in the timing for the achievement of your goals.

Get The Assurance That You Are Making Progress.

Part of goal the setting process is to set markers along the way that will help you measure your achieved progress. This gives you an objective way of knowing whether you are moving forward or simply going round in circles.

Being busy with work is not the same as making progress. If your effort is not contributing to but rather taking you away from your desired goals, knowing this as early as possible in the process will help you take corrective action.

Progress has nothing to do with speed, but with direction ~ Author Unknown

Maintain Focus On Your Dreams

Distractions are a part of life. As I continue the process of writing this book (assuming I am writing a book), I have to battle with short term and long term distractions. Since I have a goal of completing the book by a specified time, I continually look for ways to overcome distractions that can delay or completely derail my goal.

Having goals that are time bound will help you maintain focus on what needs to be done.

If you do have a long term project, then breaking it down into smaller shorter term goals will increase your focus and the chances that you will reach your goal.

Keep Going When You Are Unsure

Think of your goal as a destination and your plan of action as a roadmap for arriving at your destination.

Whenever you are unsure of when you will achieve your dreams or goals, simply take a look at the map to re assess where you are on the journey.

Remember that having written goals is not enough. You must continually work on the process of implementing the plans that will drive you towards your goal.

Increase Productivity

Your goal is the end result or your destination; to use the map analogy. But there are many other destinations along the way. These are the smaller shorter term subgoals and tasks that need to be done to reach the bigger goal.

Scheduling tasks to be done on a daily basis and then allocating blocks of time to work on these task will increase your productivity and help you become more efficient with your time.

You will become a master at working on what you want when you want. You have allocated the time and you are utilising the allocated time for the scheduled task.

You Become Self Disciplined.

Just because you have scheduled a task does not mean you will work on the task in the scheduled time. If your destination is attractive enough, you will not give up on the journey.

Self discipline, diligence and determination are some of the ingredients for the journey.

If there are areas where you lack discipline, try setting some goals in that area and then commit to implementing the steps to achieving you goal.

Grow And Mature

If you have the courage to set goals that will stretch you and take you out of your comfort zone, you will reap tremendous growth in your life and business.

What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals ~ Zig Ziglar

You become a bigger and better person. You will acquire new knowledge and skills that can be deployed to take you to new heights unimagined.

So don’t set goals based on your present position. Use your imagination and tap into your inner desires to set goals that will stretch you.

Meet The Right People

Big dreams must be bigger than any one person. If you can do it alone, then you probably have not set yourself a big enough challenge. It will require building the right team and having the right accountability partners to achieve a big vision.

Meeting the right people will not automatically happen. You need to creatively and persuasively convey your imagined future into the hearts of people to inspire them and move them to action.

Your clearly defined goals, well thought out and written plans for action and choice of words will help determine who you will attract.

I am aware that not all ten reasons will apply to you. So take some time and think about the ones that resonate with you. Go to work and set goals for what you want to achieve. Write down these goals along with action plans and commit to the implementation of your goals.

Have you got a written plan for your life? How did you benefit from implementing the plan?

Leave a comment.

Posted on Monday, June 24, 2013

Success Awaits Those Who Dare

To dare is to be audacious, to be bold and to step up to the challenge. Success at the next level awaits you only if you dare to step up to the plate and play.

This requires new sets of action. A change from our old ways of thinking and an application of these seven steps.

Dare To Desire A New Level Of Success

You will become as large as your controlling desire; or as great as your dominant aspiration ~ James Allen

You have to be intentional about success. It is not automatic. It has to be desired, planned for and worked towards.

The only thing that is guaranteed in the world we live is death and taxes. We will all die and we will all pay taxes directly or indirectly to our respective governments. But we will not all succeed in our endeavours.

What are you willing to sacrifice for success? At what cost? Relationships, your health or your emotional well being. Desire success but not at any cost.

Dare To Pick Yourself Up From Failure

Every new venture is a risk and an adventure into the future. There is always the possibility that your next venture will not succeed. Perhaps your last venture was a failure. Dare to pick yourself up from this unsuccessful attempt and get back into the game.

To succeed, you have to learn from your mistakes. Such learning will only happen if you pause to evaluate and reflect on your decisions.

What went well? What can you do different next time? Make some notes, learn and move on.

Dare To Embrace Excellence

Good enough is not good enough for the person who seeks to excel ~ Dana LaMon

It can always be done better the next time. According to my friend Marc, you need to find out what best looks like in your job and then proceed to exceed it.

Excellence has nothing to do with the resources available to you. It is an attitude that says I will exceed the expectations of my customers, my employees and my shareholders.

Todays consumers are time poor and choice rich. You will need to take some time to think through what additional benefits you can add that will improve the user experience of your product.

Dare To Say No

The only thing that stands between you and what you want from life is often merely the will to try and the faith to believe that it is possible ~ Richard M DeVos

We all have self limiting beliefs and self sabotaging behaviour that kicks in when we reach our self imposed limits. Its also called the ‘Law of the Lid’.

A few years ago I had my name put forward as a substitute keynote speaker. My first inclination was to say no simply because I did not believe I was right for that role. However, I dared to say no to the thought, I stepped out of my comfort zone and spoke at the conference. I wish I could say that I was brilliant with that speech. I was not.

I have since spoken at larger events because I pushed through my self limiting beliefs and stepped into a whole new world with lots of opportunity to learn and grow.

Dare To Take Action On Your Dreams

I am a great believer in the practice of having an ideas vault. This is the habit of writing down or keeping some form of record of your ideas as they occur. But an ideas vault or bank serves no purpose if you continually make deposits without making withdrawals.

Become a person who regularly reviews his or her ideas and takes action on them. Think of it. Everything we have in the world today from the internet to key hole surgery on babies in the womb is just an idea acted upon.

Be a game changer and regularly act on your ideas

Dare To Value Honesty And Integrity

According to Machiavelli, one could fight as a man doing the right thing or as a beast using force and being deceitful as the circumstance dictates. Leadership and personal integrity are not mutually exclusive.

Being honest and having integrity is one of the core elements of being credible. Credibility is believability which is based on trust. To have influence, a leader must be believable. Unless of course you have coercive powers.

Todays society demands openness, transparency and accountability from its leaders. Value honesty and integrity and you will be rewarded with trust which will ultimately decrease your transaction cost and time. These are great savings that lead to success.

Dare To Be Different

To be different is to be true to yourself. To speak out when other people keep quiet and to keep quiet when others speak out. Go alone if you have to because you believe in yourself and you believe in your dream.

Learn to listen and trust your instincts. If your heart is not for it, let it go. There is always a better deal the next time. Patiently wait for it.

Do not succumb to the pressure of conforming. Success awaits you as you dare to be different.

The Next Level Awaits Those Who Dare

Think for a moment about what you have read. Wherever you are on your journey, be intentional about your success, learn from your failures, exceed expectations, say no to self imposed limits, take action on your ideas, be credible and dare to be different.

What will you dare to do to take you to the next level? Leave a comment.

Posted on Friday, June 21, 2013

The Entrepreneurial Way – 7 Keys To Unlock Your Potential

Believe In Yourself

To believe in yourself is to have confidence in your skills and ability. There is no room for self doubt. Do not compare yourself to all the other experts you know in your field. With time, diligence and hard work, your own expertise will grow.

For many years I would always pass up the opportunity to speak in-front of a large audience. I did not think I was good enough. But as I began to sum up the courage to speak, I realised that I was improving with time. Know I tell myself that I am an expert in the making.

So when next you are called upon to do what you have never done before, why not say yes to this. See it as an opportunity to learn and grow. Remember that if you have never done something before, you are not going to get it right the first time unless of course you are lucky. Cut yourself some slack and allow yourself to do it badly at first. Believe that you can get better at whatever you decide to commit to.

Have A Positive Attitude

Your attitude is a result of a settled way of thinking and it is almost always reflected in your behaviour. It takes time to form and can become a habit.

There is a little difference in people, but that little difference makes a big difference. The little difference is attitude. The big difference is whether it is positive or negative ~ W Clement Stone

One way of maintaining a positive attitude is to steer clear of negativity. Resist negative influences. Be a can do person and hang around other people who have a positive and a winning attitude. A positive mental attitude will take you to unimaginable places.

Be A Life Long Learner

To be a life long learner is to be committed to continuous self improvement. You learn from your mistakes and you learn from the mistakes of others.

More important, you also learn from your successes. Ask yourself the question, what is working well from me right now and how can I do it better. You commitment to learning will result in a commitment to change.

In times of change learners inherit the earth; while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.~ Eric Hoffer

Think Solutions

There is no point in talking about the problem but rather think up possible solutions. Suddenly there will be a light at the end of the tunnel as you begin to see your way out of whatever situation you are in.

Be creative in your thinking. If you have to employ a thinking tool such as mind map do so. Think outside the box and come up with innovative ways of solving old problems.

Edward de Bono in his book Six Thinking Hats describes what he calls a practical and uniquely positive approach to making decisions and exploring new ideas.

Know Your Craft

To know your craft is not to know everything about your industry. Your effort must be directed towards the acquisition and application of the information and knowledge that can give you an edge over others.

There is generalised knowledge, there is specialised knowledge and there is the know how to organise and use knowledge after you have acquired it. You will have to decide which is important to you.

Henry Ford knew how to organise and use the knowledge he acquired. He perfected the Assembly Line, a descendant of the division of labour initially discussed by Adam Smith in his book the Wealth of Nations.

Find A Coach Or Mentor

Many of you will have heard of Usain Bolt, the Jamaican sprinter widely regarded as the fastest person ever. With an impressive record of 6 olympic gold medals and 6 world championship gold medals.

How about Michael Phelps, the retired American swimmer and the most decorated olympian of all time. Twenty two medals in total including eighteen gold.

These two men would not have achieved these great feats without the very important contribution of their coaches. Glen Mills coached Usain Bolt and Bob Bowman’s influence produced Michael Phelps.

From the field of business to politics, top salesmen and statesmen like top athletes employ the services of highly trained professional coaches to reach the top of their game. Entrepreneurs, entertainers and sportsmen achieve incredible feats with coaches alongside them. Your coach will come alongside you to inspire, encourage and motivate you to achieve success beyond your wildest dreams

Be A Leader

Anyone can steer a ship, but it takes a leader to chart the course ~John Maxwell

As a leader, you must be farsighted enough to see what others cannot see. Because the journey into the future is a journey into the unknown, you must be flexible enough to know when to make adjustments to your course, but retain the drive and tenacity to push through obstacles.

Be humble enough to know that you cannot do I on your own. You need the input of others. You must develop other leaders and not be a one man show.

As a leader, you must develop your ability to consistently communicate vision in a manner that transmits your passion, energy and enthusiasm to others.

Why not add another key below by leaving a comment.

Posted on Monday, June 17, 2013

Book Review: Do The Work by Steven Pressfield

Reading is an important part of my growth and development as a leader and entrepreneur. Much of my reading comes from recommendations from blogs I follow, friend and books I am currently reading or have read.

Where do you get your reading list from?

Do the work by Steven Pressfield.

On the field of the self stand a knight and a dragon. You are the knight. Resistance is the dragon ~ Steven Pressfield

“Do the Work” is a book that helped me move from my position of inertia to completing my first blog and many other projects. The book is designed to coach you through a project such as writing a book, starting a new business venture or a philanthropic enterprise from conception and seeing it through to finish.

Resistance

Steven Pressfield gets strait to the point of telling you that you will need to overcome resistance and get out of your own way if you want to accomplish anything as an artist or an entrepreneur.

According to Pressfield, there are three forces aligned against you in your pursuit of your dream as an artist or entrepreneur. These are:

Resistance, which is fear, self-doubt, procrastination, distraction, timidity, perfectionism and the list, goes on.
Rational thought.
Friends and family.

And I quite enjoy reading through the list of eleven activities that commonly elicit resistance as see myself engaging in these activities and actually feeling the resistance. I will only mention the first three, as you will need to read the book for a comprehensive list.

The first is the pursuit of any calling in writing, music or creative art.
The second is the launching of any entrepreneurial venture or enterprise for profit or otherwise.
And finally any diet or heath regime.

Solution

The fear of failing will hold you back. Rational thought will paralyses you as you over analyse, over plan and over research your project. Friends and family will offer well-meaning advice clouded by their own vested interest at maintaining the status quo.

The bulk of the book is all about Pressfield’s solution, which is to “Do the work”, just get on with it. Of great value for me are his tips on the need to:

Start before you are ready
Suspend all self judgment
Pull the trigger and ship it.

The book is filled with stories and personal experiences, “Do the Work” is a must read for you budding entrepreneurs, artists and anyone with a dream of making a change in his or her own life and in the lives of others.

Challenge

Here is my challenge for you this week. What project have you been thinking about doing for a long time? What is holding you back?

I doesn’t matter up to this point what has been holding you from getting started on your ideas. All that matters now is for you to get on with it. Do the work. Decide on your next step and get on with it.

Make the effort to overcome resistance at every stage and see the project through to finish. You need to know that its not just about starting, its also about finishing. If you can’t finish, all your work is for nothing.

Have you read this book? Why not leave a comment on its impact on you.

Posted on Thursday, June 13, 2013

Elevate Your Career – Overcome Your Fear Of Public Speaking

Imagine you spent the last six weeks researching, writing and preparing the slides for your next presentation. You even spent the last 24 hours rehearsing. You are confident and pleased with yourself. Yet as the moments draw near, the hours turn into minutes, your racing heart refuses to slow down.

You were so impressed by the speaker before you that all remaining confidence you had about your preparation evaporated. You walk up to the front wishing this cup would pass you by. You place your notes on the table and look at your audience to begin speaking. Your mind goes blank, your hands are shaking and your mouth feels dry.

You try to speak but no words come out. You eventually fumble through your presentation. The audience applauds and you walk back to your seat telling yourself you will never again stand up before a group to speak.

That was me before I committed to developing my speaking skills.

Being Nervous Before A Presentation Is Normal

Many people are uncomfortable speaking in front of others. Be it a small group of three colleagues at work to a larger group of thirty or more at a wedding reception. The more formal the presentation, the more uncomfortable you are.

Nervousness before a presentation is normal. The difference between you and the other speakers whom you admire is that they have not let their nervousness hold them back.

The Only Way Is To Speak

The only way to overcome your fear of public speaking is to speak. There are no shortcuts. Speaking is one of those things you learn by doing. Just like you learn to drive, play golf or play the piano, you can learn how to speak. You learn to speak effectively and then you put what you learn into practice by speaking.

So how will improving your public speaking skills help you?

Benefits Of Good Speaking Skills.

Your success in your career, in business and in public office often depends on how well you express your thoughts and ideas. Politicians have won and lost elections based on their performance in televised public debates.
Good speaking skills will improve your chances at job interviews. Many job interviews now include presentations.
You get better at motivating and inspiring people.
You become better at conducting and participating at meetings.
You get better at selling your ideas, products and winning people over to your point of view.
Your ability to express yourself confidently in-front of others increases your self-confidence.

So How Do You Overcome Your Fear Of Public Speaking.

You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’ ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

The anxiety you feel before you step up to the front and speak may never go away. You are going to have to learn to feel the fear and do it. So here are a few questions to ask yourself before getting up to speak.

Have you got a message that someone needs to hear? Speaking is only a means of communicating your message. If you have something to say, if you have thoughts and ideas to express or if you have words that will inspire encourage and motivate others, then you owe it to yourself to get up and speak.
Does anyone want to hear what you have to say? You will have to come up with an answer because if there is someone that needs to hear, then that person is waiting for you to speak up.
Everyone started somewhere. What is worth doing well is going to be done badly at first. Do you think getting up to speak in front of an audience will have a positive impact on your life and career?

If you have answered yes to any of these questions, then its time to get the attention off yourself and commit to developing yourself as a speaker and presenter. Find a toastmasters club or any other speaking club near you and learn to speak in a supportive and encouraging environment.

Why not tell us how you got over your public speaking fears.

Leading Like A Champion

Developing Tomorrow's Leaders Today