Archive for Goals and Motivation
No Fear
So my wife hears James (my four year old) call her while he’s playing outside, “Mommy, look what I found!” She goes out to discover he’s found a snake and of course, he’s picking it up and playing with it!
I suppose at the age of four, a little snake isn’t all that scary unless someone has told you that you should be scared! After her initial freak out, my wife realized that this little snake was really harmless. In fact, his two older brothers as well as the neighboring kids started taking turns holding the snake after realizing that there was nothing to fear.
A lot of people are gripped by fear these days because of personal financial struggle and concern about what the future holds for their businesses and lives. Let’s take a lesson from a four year old who didn’t know he was supposed to be afraid!
Sometimes you get buried . . .
Okay, most of us know that there are plenty of analogies between golf and business. So here’s one from Howard Chung! www.viddler.com/explore/864coach/videos/38/
Wanna go flying this weekend?
What a great video! It reminds me of the scene in Toy Story when Buzz Lightyear and Woody are flying toward Andy’s car in one of the last scenes of the movie.
Woody: “Buzz, we’re flying!”
Buzz: “This isn’t flying. This is falling, with style.”
With the economy we’re currently in, there are many who feel that they are simply “falling” hopelessly out of control. Maybe it’s time we start looking for our own wingsuit! A little practice and a parachute, we could make the most of our circumstances and start falling with style ourselves!
1st Generation Inspiration
So my wife and I decided to join the local YMCA for our family. When my mother-in-law found out about this, she was very excited because not only did she get a month of free membership for referring us, she now had some exercise partners as well!
Okay, so the thought of doing early morning water aerobics with my mother-in-law didn’t exactly excite me, but sure enough at 6 am this morning, there she was. In fact, she’s at the gym every single morning at 6 a.m. sharp! I realized that this morning ritual of hers isn’t inspired by the typical motivating factors most of us need to go to the gym (lose weight, look good, etc). As a first generation immigrant to the United States, my mother-in-law worked for over 30 years (graveyard shift) on a GM assembly line in Detroit. My parents still work 7 days a week in the restaurant business. My personal experience with so many 1st generation immigrants is that there is a stronger internal DRIVE than the average person. Whereas so many of us demand an abundance of external motivation to get something done, there are those who simply know that there is no alternative, BUT to get it done.
So the next time you encounter a first generation immigrant (maybe a restaurant owner, your dry cleaners, or at the 6am water-aerobics class at the Y), try to observe some of that DRIVE I’m talking about. Some of it just might rub off on you.
F5 ~ Refresh Your Business Workshop and Social
Okay, most of us can’t believe it’s already MID-YEAR! Did the first half go the way you wanted? If so, then it’s time to refresh! If not, it’s also time to refresh!
Join us for a fun and dynamic POWER Presentation on how to quickly evaluate and assess your business year-to-date, re-fresh your MVP (Mission, Vision, and Purpose), and establish action items that will end your year strong! Of course, there’s always the alternative . . .
Dates and Registration at www.864Community.com
- Sponsored by 864 Community
- Cost: Donation of $5 suggested to OneDaysWages.org / Fighting Global Poverty
- Refreshments provided
- Click Here to Download Promotional Flyer
School Bus
I don’t know about you, but I didn’t particularly enjoy riding the school bus when I was a kid. Maybe it was partly due to the fact that I was the shy, fat Asian kid who didn’t have any friends on the bus! My kids, on the other hand, LOVE the school bus! My wife and I initially offered to drive them to and from school because it took 40 minutes off their ride (each way), but they insisted on getting to the bus stop early (even if it sometimes meant missing breakfast), and coming home close to 4:30 in the afternoon! So what was it about the school bus? Community.
Inside the school bus, there were no boundaries or classrooms. It was like recess! They could sit next to whoever they wanted and make friends with whoever they wanted. The school bus was a community by itself OUTSIDE of school that my kids enjoyed!
Most of the time we play it so safe by staying inside the comfort zone of our ‘mini-communities’ and we hardly ever look to expand our spheres of influence. How’s that working for you and your business these days? Maybe it’s time to start looking for a school bus to hop on and make some new friends . . .
Flow . . .
In my backyard, I have a water feature. It’s a small concrete pond with a sump pump that operates a little makeshift waterfall. Just the sound and image of that water always puts my mind and body at peace. But last week, the waterfall stopped working. Sump pumps have a limited life and they simply need to be replaced from time to time. So I spent this morning digging up and replacing the old pump. After the hard work, the waterfall is working better than ever! The new pump I installed was more powerful than the previous one that died out.
Do you have an image of what your business (or life) should look like? Consider a river or waterfall. How’s your flow going these days? What do you need to do in order to get the flow moving again? Maybe it’s time to replace the pump!
