Posts Tagged ‘Relationships’
The only time management tip you’ll ever need
Photo RL Hyde
What’s the only time management tip you’ll ever need?
BE EARLY!
Why?
Being Early Saves Time AND Money
The bulk of the time we waste is spent trying to catch up on things that could have been done earlier, in less time.
By doing things before they need to be done we really SAVE time.
That old proverb “A stitch in time saves nine” is true.
Getting your car serviced before it breaks down, getting a new computer before it slows you down, getting a health check before you become ill, nurturing your relationships before they collapse, paying off bills before you get charged interest, getting more business before you run out of money. They all save both time and money.
Being early Pays Off
First come, first served is another true saying. Research shows that people respond more positively to the first person to respond to their request, whether this is to send in a quote, a tender for a job, information or recommendations. In other words, being early has a clear advantage.
Being Early Makes a Statement
If you want people to think you’re not in control of your life, unreliable, can’t be trusted, and don’t respect others, be consistently late for meetings, for deadlines, and for appointments. (See related post “Always” )
If you want people to think you’re committed, confident, and competent, show up early, and use the extra time to relax and prepare so you’ll be on top of your game.
Being in place when others arrive means you get to choose your chair, comb your hair, go to the loo, be the one to welcome others. It gives you control.
Try it …
…………………………………………………
Do you get irritated when people are late? Are you consistently late yourself? Tell us how this makes you feel in the comments below.
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Posted in 12 Steps to Success | 
Tags: Appointments, Attitude, Bizarre Death, Business Success, Comb Your Hair, Control, Cue, Don Aslett, Extra Time, First Person, Game, Health Check, Hyde, Job, Laughter, Loo, Management Book, Manifesto, Nbsp, New Computer, Oil Filter, Oil Filters, Peers, Penny Worth, People, Post Office, Productivity, Protestant Work Ethic, Proverb, Relationships, Respect Others, Sales Person, Several Thousand, Simplicity, Spokesman, Spooky Voice, Stitch In Time, Stitch In Time Saves Nine, Thousand Pounds, Time And Money, Time Management Tip, Waiting In Line | 
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Steps to Success 1: Desire is the starting point
What is it you truly desire to be, do or have in your life?
Success means very different things to different people so the first step in achieving success has to be to decide what this means to you. Knowing where to put your focus and your efforts is crucial and a great help when it comes to making everyday decisions. A great exercise to get some clarity is in the preceding post “How to Create Your Best Year”
Can you complete these sentences?
When I am successful
I am (a state of being) ….
I do (activities) ….
I have (possessions) ….
It is safe to say that if you are not already being, doing and have what you desire, you are going to have to make some changes and this is where many of us run into trouble because we can’t change in isolation. As soon as we start to make changes we affect those around us and our environment and we often hit a brick wall and decide maybe its easier, safer, better to stay as we are. Exit our dreams and desires.
In the 1970’s Dr Clare Graves, expanding on the work of Maslow, developed a table of eight values and thinking systems that affect human existence and development and both cause us to want to change as well as giving us reasons not to.
“At each stage of human existence the adult is off on his quest of his holy grail, the way of life he seeks by which to live. As he sets off on each quest, he believes he will find the answer to his existence. Yet, much to his surprise and much to his dismay, he finds that as he solves one set of human problems he finds a new set in their place. The quest he finds is never ending.”
Dr. Clare W. Graves 1914 – 1986
In the book “101 Days to Make a Change” Roy Leighton and his co-authors suggest that when we want to make changes, we may need to look at each of these levels and rather than ask “Where am I?” ask “Am I open or closed to change at this level?”
1. Survival – Getting the basics right. Are you waving or drowning?
2. Tribal – Who are your people? Do you make a positive impact on those around you?
3. Self – Who are you? What are your non-negotiable values?
4. Order – Are you building a life on solid foundations?
5. Enterprise – Are you moving forward with self knowledge?
6. Community – How can you deepen your relationships and build bonds?
7. Complexity – Do you see the bigger picture or always sweat the small stuff?
8. Holistic – Do you have an existential outlook? Can you see the interconnectedness of everything?
If desire is the starting point of all achievement, self knowledge and the ability to change go hand in hand. Are you part of this never ending quest?
Next: Steps to Success #2. Self Belief is the Key to Success
More details of the The 12 Steps to Success can be found here
If you have any queries about this or the process of making changes please leave a comment below or join the discussion on Linkedin http://lnkd.in/7AR7ex
Posted in 12 Steps to Success | Tags: 1914, Achieving Success, Brick Wall, Clare Graves, Clarity, Desire, Different Things, Dismay, Dreams And Desires, Everyday Decisions, Exercise, Holy Grail, Human Existence, Isolation, Leighton, Level 1, Life Success, Negotiable Values, Possessions, Relationships, Self Knowledge, Sentences, Solid Foundations, Survival, Table Of Eight, Way Of Life | 1 Comment »
Remove the technology
I’ve just read a great blog about marketing by Mitch Joel (you can read the original post here: http://www.twistimage.com/blog/archives/removing-technology/ )
Mitch suggests that the rise in Social Media is obscuring the real issues of marketing and I agree with him.
The rise in the use of Social Media means that more people are doing their own marketing (or they think they are). Often what they are doing isn’t marketing at all, they’re just producing noise and wondering why it doesn’t work.
To build awareness of your business you need a consistent marketing plan and social media is just part of the picture. If you have nothing to say or say the wrong things, you’re just going to let more people know it, faster than ever before.
Lets pretend the technology didn’t exist – here’s what’s important:
- Tell a compelling story.
- Real relationships are not built on offers… they’re built on long-term value.
- Create emotion. If it’s a ‘so what?’ you’re wasting your time.
Forget the technology – get the message right and then look for the right media to help you to share it.
Posted in Social Media | Tags: Com Blog, Emotion, Marketing Plan, Own Marketing, Relationships, Social Media, Technology, Wasting Your Time | 1 Comment »
Happy New Year/ Auld Lang Syne
- Train Tracks in the Snow by Adam Hawkins
Why, when we gather to celebrate a New Year, do we sing the song that hardly anyone understands?
Auld Lang Syne – the song that everybody sings and nobody knows is often attributed to Robbie Burns but the song is actually much older and Robbie just added a few verses sometime in the 1790s.
The band leader Guy Lombardo is credited with making the song a New Year’s tradition after hearing it sung by Scottish immigrants to Canada. Lombardo played the song at midnight at a New Year’s eve party at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City in 1929. After that, Lombardo’s version of the song was played and broadcast every New Year’s eve from the 1930s until 1976 at the Waldorf Astoria.
Looking back and looking forward
There are those who see the end of the year as a chance to look back on their achievements (or what they failed to achieve) and look forward to achieving more but the song asks us to reflect on our relationships with the people who have shared our journey in life while we think of what has passed and what is to come.
More than any other achievement it is the connections to other human beings that give life meaning, bring us a sense of belonging and make us emotionally healthy.
Auld Lang Syne urges us to call up memories of old friends and to lift a glass to toast them even if they are no longer with us or we haven’t seen them in a long time. When times are bad it is especially good to remember those who cared for us and supported us and remember that these same people celebrated with us in good times.
People are the most important things in our lives
The media continues its relentless fear-mongering, trying to make us believe that danger and evil lurks around every corner but there are also countless stories of the kindness of strangers and more especially, most of us are fortunate enough to know that there are people we can rely on and who can rely on us to be selfless and kind with no thought of reward.
We sing the song that we barely understand because we know instinctively that it is these relationships that we should celebrate at the end of a year and know that spending time on building and strengthening them will be the most important things we can do with our time in the years to come.
Appreciating that life has had good moments with good people is what sustains hope and makes us want to experience that feeling again in times to come.
May you have many such moments in 2010.
Here is my version of the old song:
If you want to see the traditional words just go here:
http://www.worldburnsclub.com/poems/translations/auld_lang_syne.htm
Happy New Year!
Posted in Inspiration | Tags: 1790s, 1930s, Auld Lang, Auld Lang Syne, Band Leader, Caption, Eve, Fear Mongering, Good Times, Guy Lombardo, Happy New Year, Hotel In New York, Human Beings, Important Things, Journey, Kindness Of Strangers, Leader Guy, Long Time, Memories, New Year, Old Friends, Poems, Relationships, Robbie Burns, Roosevelt Hotel In New York, Roosevelt Hotel In New York City, Scottish Immigrants, Spending Time, Tradition, Translations, Waldorf Astoria | 2 Comments »
