Preparation for Success Part 2

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! We are in the most wonderful time of the year. (I think I have heard that before?) I hope you are able to enjoy these special moments with those who are the closest to you. My present to you is just one word, PRESENT! Remember to BE PRESENT in everything you do, enjoy this time with those you love the most.

As you remember from my last blog I talked about making 2013 YOUR BEST YEAR EVER! We reflected on 2012 and talked about the 5 steps or questions needed to help you craft your goals for 2013. Let’s review those 5 questions;

1. What did I accomplish?
2. What were my biggest disappointments?
3. What did I learn?
4. How do I limit myself? In which areas of my life am I not achieving what I want? What do I say about myself to explain these failures?
5. What are my personal values? Write a clarifying statement for each value.

So be honest, did you answer them? If not, take a moment and answer them, be PRESENT!

Now, let’s continue where that blog ended and finish the steps so you will be prepared to have YOUR BEST YEAR EVER! As we look at question 6, you need to ask: “What roles do I play?” Roles refer to father, leader, husband, friend etc. List all of the roles you can think of and then narrow your list to the top 7. Of those, rate yourself, your performance, from 1 to 10 on how well you are currently performing in that role. Next, identify the role that will be your major focus for 2013! As you finish, take an inventory of all the questions you have answered, and ask yourself this: What is the biggest impediment to my success and happiness right now? This will help you determine the answer to question 7: What should my Major Focus be for 2013? The answer may surprise you; it might not be what you originally thought! Now, that your roles have been established and prioritized you can move to question 8: What are my goals for each of the roles I have listed? Remember; write out all of your goals for each role and make sure they are SMART goals. (Specific, Measureable, Actionable, Realistic and Time bound) Goals are best when they start with a strong active verb. List more than one goal per role, you need to stretch yourself so find 3 goals per role. After you have listed all your goals, review and ask yourself if completed, would these help achieve YOUR BEST YEAR EVER? If you answered yes, then you know you are on the right path and ready for question 9: What are my top 10 goals for next year? Review your goals and prioritize them from 1 to 10.

You have now completed your goal list for 2013! Type or rewrite your goals and post them where you will see them every day. I have mine posted on the inside of my bathroom mirror and in the binder I carry with me every day. The last question you must answer for yourself is 10: How can I make sure I achieve them? This is crucial because you are confirming to yourself that you will accomplish your goals and establishing why it is important to you.

I wish you a Happy New Year and hope you make 2013 YOUR BEST YEAR EVER!

Gary Wilbers

“GOALS: Are like having your headlights on,

because you know where you are going.”

Preparation for Success part 1!

Can you believe we are in the last month of 2012? How many of you achieved what you set out to achieve in 2012? Did you reach the goals you set for yourself? Did you make progress towards those goals? Well, you cannot turn back the clock so now is the time to prepare for the success you want to achieve in 2013! The next two blogs will give you some tips to help make 2013, YOUR BEST YEAR EVER! In this blog we will talk about taking an inventory of what happened in the past year. In the next blog we will give you some steps to follow to set your goals for 2013.

The first thing you need to do is get a pen and paper. The first process is to acknowledge and appreciate what happened last year. This process is to get you to look back on your past year and write your responses to the following two questions: 1. What did I accomplish? 2. What were my biggest disappointments? After you have honestly and completely answered these questions reflect back on the last year and think about what you have learned this year? These life lessons will help you achieve the goals you set for this year. Answer the question: 3. What did I learn? These three questions are already helping you form the results you will want to achieve this next year. The next positive internal focus for producing results comes in thinking about yourself and your goals it will help empower you to succeed. You will create a transformation when you place your self at the center of your life, creating your world rather than letting circumstances dictate your success. You create a new reality and power to create a new you! The fourth question to answer is: 4. How do I limit myself? Also, ask yourself this question? In which areas of my life am I not achieving what I want? The last question to ask yourself in this area is: What do I say about myself to explain these failures? This is very difficult but when you are honest with yourself and put this information on paper it allows you to see what is stopping you from creating your best year yet! Just list each question and write, don’t over analyze the why, just let your conscious mind help you in answering each question. This is being true to whom and what you really are.

The last area to complete this week is to think about what’s most important to you in your life. What are the hidden drivers behind your most tangible goals? What values do you demonstrate in your life? When we identify our personal values they will provide the strongest motivation for change and achieving the goals we most want to achieve. These personal values should be the words that are most central to your life like: integrity, honesty, compassion, keeping my promises, loving, caring etc. 5. Write down your personal values? List all of your personal values and then review them and write a clarifying statement for each value. When we clarify our values we can see ourselves “living” those values and we increase our probability of making an integral part of our daily life. By writing a clarifying statement it gives us a verbal picture, becomes the vision or target and it helps us understand what we need to do. Let me give you an example of a clarifying statement.

Value: Teamwork

Clarifying statement: I work collaboratively with others and positively contribute in a way that will help move my team forward.

Take time this week and complete the first 5 questions, this will give you the foundation you need to set the goals that are most important to you in 2013. In the next blog we will give you the 5 questions that will allow you to draft the goals you will ACHIEVE in 2013! I am a firm believer people who set goals are more likely to achieve them because they know where they are going!

Have a GREAT day!

Gary

Here’s a quote I coined:

“GOALS: Are like having your headlights on,

because you know where you are going.”

What are you thankful for?

I decided since Thanksgiving is next week it would be wise to talk about Thanksgiving! But, I want to take a different approach today instead of the usual “what are you thankful for this year”. Let’s talk about the gratitude you have in your life. The definition I am going to use of gratitude comes from Dan Sullivan.

“Gratitude is an internally-generated capability that allows an individual to create and discover unlimited meaning and value in every situation and relationship in life.”

As we use this definition of gratitude let’s break it down in smaller segments and digest each part.

Internally-generated capability: This means we have the ability within ourselves to generate this capability. Gratitude does not come from possessions, things or others. We have the drive to find gratitude in the smallest areas of our life. The last couple of days I have been grateful for the sunshine that warms the day.

Create unlimited meaning and value: Gratitude allows the individual to discover why they appreciate something. Everyone values different things in life so for one person seeing the sunset is gratitude, for another it may be just another sunset. The challenge here is to search yourself and find what holds gratitude in your life? Most people live life but forget to live their life! Make a list of the things in your life that creates meaning and value?

Every situation and relationship in life: As you made your list was it easy to identify the people closest to you like spouse, children, mom, dad etc. These are people you should show daily gratitude, by your words and actions. The more challenging areas are interactions with a co-worker, your job, a challenging issue, someone you dislike. Also, don’t forget the relationship you have with your creator. God provides a backbone to give us the capability in our daily lives if we just open up our heart and mind and allow him to help us.

As you prepare for Thanksgiving I hope you take the time to make your list of not only the people but also the daily events that give meaning and value to your life. This list will help you realize we all have many reasons to be grateful in our lives.

I hope each of you have a blessed Thanksgiving!

Have a GREAT day!

Gary

Positive Attitude Part 2:

“The power plant doesn’t have energy, it generates it.”

~ Brendon Burchard

I heard Brendon Burchard speak this past week on ways to live a CHARGED life. He coined this quote and I think it applies to our topic of getting a Positive Attitude. In my last blog I gave you the definition of a positive attitude. My goal in this blog is to give you some strategies that can help you implement a Positive Attitude into your daily life. Of course, this is not an all-inclusive list but it will help you to get started adopting a positive attitude into your life.

Let’s start with our first strategy of showing gratitude into our daily lives. Gratitude is giving or appreciating something or someone for a contribution they have made to you or your team. Jon Gordon told us, “You can’t be Blessed and Stressed!” When we daily share our gratitude to our spouse, co-workers, boss, and children by our actions, you will see that your relationships will be more positive.

Our second strategy is to daily read motivational material. The more you feed your mind, the more your mind will change. Zig Zigler tells people this about motivation: “Motivation doesn’t last, and I say…bathing doesn’t either, that’s why I recommend it daily.”

Keeping a journal is our third strategy. By writing your thoughts at least once a day it allows your mind to experience where you are at in that moment. You wouldn’t go hiking without a compass, so by keeping a daily record in one place it will help you change your behaviors.

The last strategy I am going to talk about in this blog is exercising. I know there are hundreds of other strategies you could implement to have a positive attitude. This is just a few to give you some habits to get started. Exercise means many things but I think the simplest strategy I could give you is to start exercising 4 to 5 times a week for minimum of 30 minutes each time. I know some of you are thinking? I don’t have the time! Do you realize that is only 2 to 2.5 hours per week? You do know we all get the same 24 hours every day and 168 hours per week. So, don’t tell me you can’t find 2 to 2.5 hours per week. Exercise will give you a more positive attitude because of the energy it will give your mind and body. The average American watches 4 hours of TV per day! So, cut out a TV show every other day.

As I told you in the last blog, we must first decide to create a habit of implementing a Positive Attitude. I guarantee you it will be worth the effort.

Have a Great day!

Gary

“Remember it’s your life; make it what you want it to be.”

~ Gary Wilbers

How do I get a Positive Attitude? Part 1

I thought it would be fun to talk about Positive Attitude for this month’s blog. Many people want to have a positive attitude but they go about getting it in the wrong manner so I am going to try to give you a few tips on how you can create a positive attitude in your life. Let’s first define what a positive attitude is: A positive attitude is a philosophy of approaching life with optimism and confidence. Developing a positive attitude requires replacing negative thinking with positive in an effort to create a successful outlook on life and experiences.

Let’s try to break down the definition, getting to an understanding that we can implement into our daily lives. The first part talks about a philosophy of approaching life with optimism and confidence. So, it is telling us we must first decide to create a habit of implementing the mentality in our daily actions to be positive. This is a hard one because it must become a habit to make this a reality. You have heard the phrase the grass is greener on the other side. Well, you have to make the grass green on your side. Optimism and confidence are emotions so they can be controlled by our brain. But, it must be a conditioned response not only a feeling. The next part of the definition talks about replacing negative thinking with positive thinking. Again, we have to change our mental wiring from how we look at things. You have heard from people the phrase: “the glass half empty or the glass half full.” Which way you view information will determine your result of negative thinking or positive thinking. It is said 10% is what happens to us and 90% is how we react to the situation, information or news. The last part of the definition is creating a successful outlook on life and experiences. This is done by knowing your roadmap and the purpose why you were put on this earth. God created all of us for a purpose. Spend time finding your purpose and I guarantee you, your outlook on life will become positive because you know why you are doing things in this world.

In the next issue we will discuss some strategies that will help you implement the positive attitude in your life. Some of those are showing gratitude, daily motivational reading, keeping a journal and exercising. I also wanted to end my blog by thanking Patrick, Trampus, Ginger and Kristy for sharing with their teams their positive attitude during the month of September.

Have a GREAT day!

“A positive attitude is not given, it is received.”

Gary

Creating a Culture of Greatness Part II

Thanks for all the positive comments about my last blog entry. Let’s build on creating that Culture of Greatness in your life and organizations. The root of that greatness is built on the behavior and the habits we create. Then we lead ourselves and our team with Optimism and Positive Energy. It is vital that we feed the positive dog every day or the energy vampires will zap our enthusiasm and energy.

The third principle Jon spoke about is building loyal relationships. These loyal relationships in the business world would be with our customers. In your personal life it would be those who you trust and help you become a better person. Show the people in your life that you care. I am currently reading a book that talks about in a relationship you have to be willing to have the 100/0 principle. This means you are willing to give a 100% without getting anything in return. Do we show our team, spouse, son or daughter we care about them? You MUST make relationships a priority! Have you noticed sometimes we are so busy and stressed, that our relationships are the last thing we give any attention to? When was the last time you sat down and just talked with your spouse or team member? Show the people in your life you care and communicate with them. Relationships are a key to feeling positive. Our passion and purpose on earth are what will help us find happiness not success. If I asked you to define success, I would get a different response from everyone. Instead, choose to find what your passion and purpose are in life and you will not only find success but you will also find happiness. I am a firm believer you will have to have faith in God to find your true purpose in life because he is the one who created us and knows what our purpose is? How do we find our passion and purpose? Slow down and pray, meditate and talk to those most close to you to find out what they think you are meant to be. Remember life is a journey not a destination.

The last principle Jon spoke about was to Pursue Excellence in everything we do in life. Be the best you can be every day. Zoom focus on 3 things you want to accomplish every day. Don’t settle for mediocrity. Strive to improve every day, every week and every month. Jon mentioned to live in the moment of today, you might not be where you want to be yet but if you make the best of that moment and place it will help you propel to the next opportunity that will come in your life. Jon also mentioned you must be willing to pay the price to work harder than anyone else. No one becomes an instant success! The ones willing to pay the price are the people who reap what they sow!

As I reviewed what Jon said, I have found we have a similar belief system. Everyone has the capability to be the person God meant them to be if they are willing to water and fertilize their own soil. I am a firm believer we all have one life to live, why not go out and make it the best life you want it to be. Yes, you will have obstacles, setbacks and challenges but those who find ways to overcome will become what they are meant to be. I have included my list of “10 Daily Actions to Live By” for you to review. My goal is that it will help you live the life you want to live!

Ten Daily Actions to Live By

1. My life is a message. I will make it what I want it to be.

2. I take responsibility for who I am. I am responsible for my past and my future.

3. I am a person of action. I choose to seize the moment and I choose NOW!

4. My life is about loving and helping people. I have a caring and decided heart.

5. I make people and things flourish by the amount of time and care I give to them.

6. I choose to have a great attitude. I am a happy person and I will have a positive attitude towards others.

7. I know where I want my life to go. I have chosen my path to follow daily.

8. I will greet every day with a forgiving spirit. I will forgive myself and others.

9. My best preparation to live a good tomorrow is to live a great today.

10. I am a person of great faith. I believe all my talents and gifts come from my God.

Have a GREAT day!

Gary

Creating a Culture of Greatness Part I

WOW! For any of you reading this that missed Jon Gordon over the last couple of days in Jefferson City you missed an opportunity to inspire yourself and get a big dose of Vitamin C! But, it is your lucky day because I am going to talk about some of the principles he shared with us and if you implement them into your life you can still make changes that will impact you!

Jon talked about 4 ways in which we can help grow ourselves. In the business world we can create a Culture of Greatness in every company by each individual concentrating on the root of the tree versus the fruit. He said, “Culture is created at the root of the tree because it is what drives the behavior, behavior drives habits and habits drives results." When everyone on the team stirs the pot, the team improves the quality of the organization. You can determine the culture of an organization based on how strong their root is. The root is the people not the results. These same principles can be adopted in a family setting. The root will make a strong family.

The second way we can grow ourselves and our organization is by Leading with Optimism and Positive Energy! One message that resonated with me is we have to keep running. Which means never give up and stay positive. Everyone and every organization has challenges and obstacles. The one who overcomes and doesn’t give up will be the one who will have the most success in life. Optimism is a competitive advantage because those teams/people don’t make excuses they find ways to overcome no matter what! His book “Positive Dog” talks about “what you feel is what you get!” Think about that, if I feel lousy, I am going to think and act lousy. If I feel positive and show my enthusiasm I am going to be positive. Which would you rather show? Be a big dose of vitamin C or vomit on people so you make everyone around you feel sick? Our perspective which is the same as our paradigm is how we see the world. How are you viewing your world right now? Take time and answer this question? This is the key, if you feel abundance in your life; you see your world around you as having its best days ahead of you! If you feel and listen to all the outside distractions, you feel your world has a sacristy mindset. Everything and everyone in the world is going down the tubes. That is true if you watch too much TV and listen to the negative influencers in your life. Change the way you see things by changing your habits. Read a book, listen to motivational tapes, and go hear a motivational speaker or find time to spend quiet time with your faith. Jon asked, “What does fear and faith have in common besides they both start with F? The answer: They both believe in a future that has not happened yet.” Which one are you going to start a habit believing in? A good point to help with this new habit is, talk to yourself versus listening to yourself. When talking to yourself, tell yourself about the positives that are happening in your life today. Take a walk of gratitude or write down in a journal the positive focus you enjoyed today. At our home every night my children thank God for the day by praying and then they each give a positive focus for school and home for the day. Why do I feel this is important? When you go to sleep thinking about the positive you are more likely to wake up in the morning ready to make your day positive.

As I close out this blog it is vital to remember you cannot change yourself in a day, week or month but a consistent daily effort will lead you to make changes that will become habits. Keep watering and fertilizing your root and you will become the person that God wanted you to be.

Have a GREAT day!

Gary

P.S. Next time we will discover the other two principles Jon shared with us.

Staying Positive

Would you like to hear from a Best Selling author of the Wall Street Journal?

Jon Gordon (www.jongordon.com) is coming to Jefferson City September 12 & 13th and you have an opportunity to see him live if you read the rest of this post.

Jon Gordon’s bestselling books and talks have inspired readers and audiences around the world. His principles have been put to the test by numerous NFL, NBA and college coaches and teams, Fortune 500 companies, school districts, hospitals and nonprofits. Some of Jon’s bestselling books include: The Energy Bus, The No Complaining Rule, Training Camp, The Shark and the Goldfish, Soup and The Seed.

Jon’s talks and books are based on everyday principles that you can incorporate into your life today. He says, ”What matters most is that I say something today that will inspire you to take action tomorrow.”

In this day of negativity it is rare when we hear the positive. To stay positive you must incorporate strategies to strengthen your daily discipline to be a positive person. We all know our attitude is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to the situation. But, today with the media giving us a constant dose of negativity we must find ways to overcome the negative. Have you ever realized if you watch a half hour news program only 2 minutes or less will be on a positive news story? So, how do we become the positive person in our life that we want to become? Well, if I told you that today, you would not make the time to come see Jon Gordon live and in person. So, I will recap some of his strategies in my next several blogs.

Here are the details on Jon Gordon’s appearances that you are invited to attend. Plan to arrive early and be prepared to make changes to become the positive person in your life.

Please RSVP which event you will attend to, thellmann@midamericawireless.com by September10th.

Rickman Conference Center               St. Stanislaus Catholic School
3915 Bennett Lane                             6410 Route West
Jefferson City, MO 65110                    Jefferson City, MO 65101

Sept. 12th at 2:00 – 3:30pm                Sept. 12th at 7:15 – 8:45pm
Sept. 13th at 8:30 – 10:00am              Gym doors open @ 6:30pm come
                                                             early for best seating)

**Barnes and Noble will be on site to sell Jon’s books immediately following his presentation**

I know we are all busy but I guarantee that if you take the time to come hear Jon speak you will view your life differently than before.

Hope to see you on the 12th or 13th!

Back to School!

It is hard to believe, but it is back to school time again. My children woke up this morning a little excited and little bummed because summer is over! Of course, for them that means sleeping in late and taking life easy is over for this summer. School and learning is part of a lifelong process, so what are we doing every day to become a better student of life?

I believe one of our personal greatest challenges in life is to continue learning throughout our lives. Every stage of life is a learning process. Think back, when you were young and learning how to walk and talk. As we started school we started learning how to write and learning our ABC’s. Then we moved on to high school where we were learning how to deal with our independence from our parents. As we progressed to college we got our independence and had to learn how to handle our own responsibilities and time. As we get married we have to learn how to live and share our life with another person. When we are blessed with children, career, and bills; we learn how to deal with all the challenges of life on a daily basis. It can seem overwhelming. But the people, who figure out how to survive these times, are the individuals who become the students of life in the world. As you look at your life, what is the one thing you need to learn to be a better person in your life today?

As my children head back to school today I am making myself a list of what I need to learn to be a better parent, husband and leader. I know one of my goals is to read more books that give me insight on how I can improve in these areas. I think in life we are given opportunities for a new starting point. I believe back to school time is a good time to review what priorities are the most important in my life. I hope you take time today to review your homework for your life. Remember you can live your life or let your life be lived. I choose to live the life I want to live!

Quote: “What is important in life is life, and not the result of life”

- Goethe

Have a GREAT day!

What is your most convincing characteristic?

In my last blog I spoke about two words we need to do every day in our lives: Think and Act. Today I am going to unveil to you the most convincing characteristic you can have as a person. SELF BELIEF! One of the first things we must do is believe in ourselves before we can become a success. We must find the belief that I can and will accomplish anything I set out to achieve. Success in anything is up to each one of us individually.

Self-belief is the thinking and acting on what we want to accomplish. It’s the conduit between your attitude and willpower to succeed. As you create what you want to accomplish you must feed that thought with positive reinforcement that you can accomplish, what you set out to achieve. Let me give you an example: I set a goal this year to run a full marathon. (Yes, that is 26.2 miles!) The last several months I have been thinking about how I was going to accomplish this goal. I will admit I just decided to register for the full marathon and now need to take action and register for the marathon. I need to complete my action on what I want to accomplish, I will then need to feed my attitude every day to create the willpower to succeed in my self-belief. Why? I have never run a full marathon so I need to have the self-belief in myself I can and will accomplish what I set out to achieve. I will admit by putting this in my blog it creates an accountability measure to myself by asking each of you to help me become accountable to my goal. So, anytime you see me, ask me how my training is progressing for my marathon. You noticed the words I used to stay positive? Ask me how my training is going? Not, are you still training for your marathon? Also, I have now claimed this marathon as MY marathon because it is MY goal.

Remember as you create your self-belief; make sure you do a complete self–evaluation. The key is you must believe in what you want to accomplish. Like any other goal it is vital you know you’re WHY you want to achieve the goal. Next time you see me ask me my WHY?
Quote:

“Self-belief is the most convincing characteristic to others, and THE most convincing characteristic to yourself.”

-Jeffrey Gitomer

Have a GREAT day!

Gary

What are you thinking about?

“Think and act---two words of progress”   John Patterson

Today let’s talk about these two words from John Patterson:

THINK and ACT!

In today’s fast paced society do we take time just to think? With all the messages we hear every day do we think about what they are telling us? Do we slow down enough to think how does it impact my life? If you are like most living human beings in the world today, thinking is not something we do. I want to give you some simple tips to bring thinking back into your daily life. These 10 practical steps will help you get more out of your life.

1. How do I want my day to go today?
2. What are my plans to make today successful?
3. What are my 3 positive focuses from yesterday?
4. What am I most grateful for today?
5. What are my 3 most important actions I must do today?
6. What did I read today to get my attitude in shape?
7. Did I feed my brain with a positive message today?
8. Did I exercise my body so it was in shape to think today?
9. What will I learn today to keep me current in my life?
10. Did I make someone else feel appreciated?

The second part of the quote was to ACT to create progress. The simple part is saying I am going to think about these questions every day. The hard part is actually ACTING on the questions. I would suggest every morning find a quiet place to read some spiritual message to get your mind in the calmness of time so you think about the following questions before you start your day. Then I would write down your answers to each question so your brain triggers you to act on each item throughout the day. At the end of the day review your list and see how many you acted on throughout the day. Thinking, like any other action, is a discipline. You decide your own outcome based on your desire and self-determination.

“THINK! Do it for a week.

The results will be so amazing; you’ll do it for a lifetime.”

Jeffrey Gitomer

Have a GREAT day!

P.S. If you would like a document you can print off with the 10 daily thinking questions send me an email back requesting: Ten Daily Thinking Questions.

Why do we celebrate July 4th?

On this day in 1776, the Declaration of Independence was approved by the Continental Congress, setting the 13 colonies on the road to freedom as a sovereign nation. As always, this most American of holidays will be marked by parades, fireworks and backyard barbecues across the country. I hope as you get ready to celebrate this special holiday you will reflect back on what makes our country so great! We are free to choose in this country. Don’t let our freedoms become a thing of the past.

In July we mark the halfway point for 2012! Last week we talked about the goals that you set out to achieve in 2012. This week I want to talk about your FREEDOM to choose what you want to accomplish. Early in my life, my teachers spoke about free will. We all have free will and when we use it to create positive habits we can accomplish whatever we set out to achieve. So, what does this have to do with freedom? Well, freedom is defined as:

The power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint.

When we have the right to act, speak or think as we want without hindrance or restraint, then what will give us the freedom to accomplish what we want in life? I think it is in our habits and the daily actions we live by every day. As you journey through this week, check to see if your actions are aligned with your habits. I believe people who discipline themselves in their FREEDOM to act, speak and think are more apt to create what they set out to achieve.

Let’s look at an example: As many of you know Dave Ramsey speaks on financial freedom. He believes a credit card destroys our freedom from being debt free. As we see in commercials if you own a credit card it gives you all kinds of pleasures you can charge on the card like a vacation, clothes, and anything to make your life better. I know that it’s not things that make us happy, but rather the people and experiences we create. If I have a goal to become debt free, I have the freedom to make this a choice in my life. I must act, speak and think to make this goal a reality. This will take a disciplined effort but, as Dave says: "Live like no one else, so that later you can live like no one else!"

I leave you with this thought. “If you want to accomplish great things, your FREEDOM, will make your daily actions your habits and you will achieve any goal you set for yourself.”

Enjoy the Journey!

Where is 2012 going?

Who made goals at the beginning of 2012? Did you write them down? Are you reviewing the progress you are making on a daily, weekly or monthly basis? Goals can be achieved when we believe and take action to achieve them. I hear all the time people say I have goals but then when you ask, are you achieving them? Most people say, NO! Why do only a small percentage of people achieve their goals?

Let’s start from the beginning on goals by defining what a goal is? Goals, defined by the Webster dictionary is: object to be reached or attained. So if you want to reach or attain a goal you must first know what the goal is. All studies on goals show a direct correlation between writing your goals down, it increases your chances of achieving them. Why do you think if you write it down and make it SMART (Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Realistic and Timebound) you are more likely to succeed? One reason is because now your brain is on the same page with what you want to accomplish. I also think writing your goal down makes it real in your own mind. Most people say they have a goal but achievers take the next step and they commit themselves to making it a reality.

The next step in goal setting is breaking down your goal into Action steps. You have heard the story on how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time! In goal setting most goals are accomplished by having a method on how you will achieve the goal. I am a firm believer if you break these down into doable action steps it makes achieving the goal, happen. Let’s look at an example: I will lose 25lbs by 12/31/12. Is this goal SMART? Yes, so what would be some steps to accomplish the goal? 1. Weigh yourself and track your progress every Monday on a chart. 2. Exercise 4 times a week a minimum of 30 minutes each time. 3. Track my eating everyday on paper which will allow me to eat healthy. 4. Always take stairs instead of the elevator. 5. Find an accountability partner to exercise with. See how these small steps can make the goal of losing 25lbs become a reality.

The last step is committing to yourself that you can and will achieve the goal you have set for yourself. The old saying: “Your mind can achieve what you believe.” I am a firm believer you must put your goal in a visible place so you can review it daily. I have posted mine behind my mirror so every time I brush my teeth what do I see? Committing to yourself is a commitment that your willpower is stronger than taking the easy road. A goal will be a challenge to achieve but you must know the dedication to achieving the goal is part of the journey to make it worthwhile.

I thought a review of goals may be worthwhile for everyone knowing that we are heading to the middle of 2012! Remember if you made goals for 2012 you can still make them a reality. I am not going to wish you luck in achieving your goals; instead I am going to ask you to take ACTION on achieving your goals.

My favorite quote on achieving goals:

“Goals are like having your headlights on, because you know where you are going”

I authored this quote.

Have a GREAT day!

You are Special

As I reflect back on my time this week, spent volunteering for the Missouri Special Olympic Summer games in Columbia, Missouri it brought back a special feeling in my heart. The summer games were in an expanded format this year and started on Tuesday and will finish up today. Special Olympics always bring the heart of competition to its events and this year was no exception.

You are Special is my heading for today’s blog because I want to reflect on two individuals I was fortunate to spend time with this week at the games. My two new friends are Octavio and Tevin. These athletes participated in the Pentathlon, which consists of five events in track and field. The events are Shot Put, Running Long Jump, 100 Meter run, 400 Meter run and the High Jump. Our family was the Venue Coordinators for this event so we spent the time with these athletes during the day on Wednesday taking them to each of their events. As in past years, we were not disappointed in the competitive spirit each athlete showed. Tevin and Octavio both are athletes and love the thrill of competing. At each event they challenged each other to be the best. It never ceases to amaze me that each athlete that participates just enjoys the thrill of competition. Competition seems to be a common bond in the human spirit. As we know from previous blogs God gives us our talents and gifts and when we realize these gifts are God-given it makes us more thankful for what we have. This brings me to my title, “You are Special.” We are each SPECIAL in our way. Take some time and think right now, why are you Special? List out your uniqueness? What talents do you have? What gifts have you been given? I guarantee you if you write down the answers to these questions you will feel gratitude in your life for whom and what you are. God makes each of us Special. I hope, by you reflecting on why you are special today, you realize your blessings. I feel blessed that this week when I thought I had so many other things to do, I spent time with my two new friends that are Special Olympic athletes. Thanks Octavio and Tevin for helping me realize in my life what is special to me. (See enclosed photo of Octavio and Tevin with their respective Gold medals)

I have also enclosed a picture of my son Chris with Sarah and Beth both athletes from Columbia, Missouri as we were waiting to walk in the opening ceremonies. Please check out more information on the Special Olympics Missouri website at http://www.somo.org/ I hope you decide to join us for one of events so you can experience this SPECIAL feeling. I promise you won’t regret giving your time helping these athletes fulfill their dream of competing.

Have a GREAT day!

 

Ten Daily Actions to Live by

As we wrap up my discussions on the Ten Daily Actions to Live by I hope you have found some actions you currently live by and some that you would like to incorporate into your life. I must admit to live them daily is a challenge but I keep working on making them a habit. As I wrap up this series of blogs I thought it would be beneficial to share a poem I made using the Ten Daily Actions.

“My message makes me responsible to be a person of action. My life is about loving and helping people. I help them flourish by the amount of time I give to them. I choose to be a happy person and I will have a positive attitude toward others. I have chosen my path to follow daily and to greet each day with a forgiving spirit. I will live a great today because I am a person of faith and I know my gifts and talents come from my God.”

Please take time and share with me which Action you feel you use the most often and why? Which Action do you think is the most challenging for you and why? I hope you are enjoying the warmer weather and appreciating the gifts we are given each day.

Have a GREAT day!

Where do your talents and gifts come from?

As I reveal my final action to live by in this blog I hope you have found some worthwhile actions to make your life, the life you want it to be. We all have the capability to make our life the BEST if we choose to take ACTION. This week’s action is: “I am a person of great faith. I believe all my talents and gifts come from my God.”

I have to admit I used to have a hard time with the fact that God was the reason for my success and not ME! The main reason I had this challenge is because I believed my hard work and my abilities were the reason my success happened. This has changed over time as I have deepened my relationship with God and started searching for the purpose of my life. I have found over the years the blessings that God pours into my life, my career, my business, my finances, my family and my health, that they all come about because of my God! At this weekend’s mass our priest spoke to us about our decisions to use our talents and gifts (God-given) to become and do what we want. Thoughts that enter our mind are God speaking to us. We should listen to God to find where we can best use all of the gifts and talents he has given. Please look up Ephesians: 1:3-14 and in this passage you will read that in him we were chosen, and destined in accord with the purpose of the One who accomplishes all things according to his will, so that we might exist for the praise of his glory, we who first hoped in Christ.

“I am a person of Great faith. I believe all my talents and gifts come from my God.” Thank God daily for the gifts and talents he has given you. Spend time with God in prayer, mediation and scripture reading. Remind yourself daily God gives us all that we have and all that we offer.

We are five months into 2012; I hope you are reaching your goals and plans you set for yourself.

Are you living a GREAT day?

Some of you may remember my last blog was about having a forgiving spirit. Well, I have to ask my wife to forgive me because I ended my last blog with this statement: “Excuse me for cutting this blog short but I need to go forgive my spouse, AGAIN!” I was trying to be funny but in my haste of my comments I meant to say I needed to cut this blog short to ask for my forgiveness from my wife NOT that I needed to forgive her again! Of course, my wife was a true person of forgiveness because she laughed about it and knew what I was trying to say. Thank you Dana for always being so kind and understanding in every type of situation, it is one of the reasons why I wanted to spend our lives together.

The ninth action to live by is: “My best preparation to live a good tomorrow is to live a GREAT today.” As you can see each action builds on the other actions. As you create MOMENTUM it propels you to GREAT days. As we all know it is not easy to build momentum, but once you do, look out! Do you remember playing on merry-go-rounds when you were a kid? A bunch of your friends would pile on, weighing the body of the thing down and then chanted as you worked to get the platform moving. Getting started was very slow going. The first step was always the hardest—getting it to move from the standstill. You had to push and pull, grimace and groan and throw your whole body into the effort. One step, two steps, three steps—it seemed like you were getting nowhere. After a long hard effort, finally you were able to get up a little bit of speed and run alongside it. Even though you were moving and your friends were cheering louder to get the speed you really wanted, you had to keep running faster and faster, pulling behind it as you ran with all your might. Finally, you found success when you jumped on with your friends and found the joy in feeling the wind in your face and watching the world turn into a smear of colors. After a while, when the merry-go-round started to slow down, you’d hop off and run alongside for a minute to get the speed back up or you could simply give it a couple of good pushes then hop back on. Once the merry-go-round was spinning at a good clip, momentum took over, making it easy to keep going.

This is the same process we go through when we adopt change. We start with one small step or one action that creates a new habit. The process is slow but it is vital we take that action every day because that action will create a new habit, which will create the MOMENTUM we need to accomplish our goals. The secret lies in the daily actions we take every day. This is different than anything our society shows. Our society shows the glamour and glitz of all these superstars but they leave out what it takes to become a superstar. Well, I have just given you the secret. It takes daily actions that will help you create a new habit. As you create new habits the MOMENTUM will propel you forward. Once you get the momentum, nothing can stop you but yourself. What are you willing to start today to get your momentum moving forward? Remember your best preparation to live a good tomorrow is to live a GREAT today!

I encourage you to find your success and results that you are looking for and it will allow you to have the GREAT day! Live each day to the fullest! Make each day the best of your life! Remember it starts with that first step!

Gary Wilbers

Are you a forgiving person?

Can you believe the first quarter of 2012 is over? Well, this would be a great time to review the goals you set for yourself in 2012. I just did a quick review and realized I needed to change a few things if I plan on accomplishing them by the end of 2012. The eighth action that I want to talk to you about today is one of those actions that is very challenging to do every day because our pride and ego gets in the way. The action is: I will greet every day with a forgiving spirit. I will forgive myself and others.

I call this action the attitude of GRATITUDE. Over the years I have struggled with this action. I am a very strong willed individual so forgiving is not one of my strengths. Anyone that knows me well would agree with that statement especially my wife! Through the years I have been more proactive in having a forgiving spirit. I realized during my reflection and prayer time my greatest weakness in this area is that I am not willing to forgive myself and it is the culprit that stands in my way of forgiving others. This bible verse speaks to forgiveness:

Matthew 18: 21-22

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”

I think this answer by Jesus makes it clear that forgiveness is not easy for any of us. It’s not a one-time choice and then we will automatically live in a state of forgiveness. It is a daily choice that we are willing to forgive ourselves and others. Forgiveness may require a lifetime of forgiving, but it is what makes us the person God meant us to be. Being able to forgive makes us a man or woman. Too many people see this as weakness; instead it is a sign of strength if we are able to forgive ourselves and others. The most important forgiveness comes when it is settled in our heart

So how will you go forward in this second quarter of 2012 and use this action to change who you want to be? Remember the eighth action is: I will greet each day with a forgiving spirit. I will forgive myself and others.

Holding on to grudges can allow us to ruin days, weeks, months and years. As I take action on having a forgiving spirit it makes me become the person I want to become. Excuse me for cutting this blog short but I need to go forgive my spouse, AGAIN!

How do we find our direction in life?

Today, we are going to talk about our 7th action to live by: “I know where I want my life to go. I have chosen my path to follow daily.” I have found two principles that work for me. I am sure there are others that work but this will give you a foundation to start so you can follow the path you want for your life. As you will see in the next several actions, I will be sharing some of my beliefs in faith with you. By sharing my faith, I am telling you this is a commitment for me that helps’ me keep my direction in life. Yes, I fail at times but just like Jesus did I get back up and try again.

First, I meditate and ask God where he wants me to go? What direction do I need to follow? How can I fulfill what he has set out for me to accomplish on earth. I spend time in prayer and meditation to understand where I should be headed. I have to admit it is hard to follow God’s will and not my own will. Dedicate your work to be used for God’s purposes. Whatever you want God to bless, you give to him first. In a recent Rick Warren (Author, A Purpose Driven Life) devotional he defined how to dedicate your works with the word SUCCEED!

Start working enthusiastically.

Understand who you really work for.

Concentrate on building your character.

Care about the people you work with.

Exceed what is expected of you.

Expand your skills to SUCCEED at work.

Dedicate your work to be used for God’s purposes.

God wants you to succeed in life. He wants you to succeed spiritually, but he also wants you to succeed in your work. God wants each of us to be a witness at work. He wants us to use our platform for the glory of God.

The second method I use: I set GOALS! I coined a quote on goals that I think some up what goals are all about:

“Goals: Are like having your headlights on because you know where you are going.”

If you don’t create the roadmap to your success how will you reach the destination? Each year I take time to set goals for myself in areas like: Health, Spiritual, Relationships, Career, Education, Self and Family. This becomes my written plan to achieve the goals I set. It is vital that you write your goals down on paper. It is the commitment that will help you make it a reality. I also post my goals in a very visible place, so I see them every day. I have a ritual when I brush my teeth in the morning I review my goals to myself. It gives me a daily reminder on what my highest priorities are each and every day.

Have you decided where your life will be next week, next month, or next year? It’s your life, what are you waiting for? Take time to find your direction with God and then set some goals you still want to achieve in 2012? Do you realize we still have 9 plus months to make them a REALITY!

Have a GREAT day!

Gary Wilbers

What is your attitude like today?

If you noticed we are on number 6 of my ten keys of how you can be the “BEST of the BEST”. Each key builds off the previous one. To make them work for your life you have to make changes in your habits. The sixth action to live by: “I CHOOSE TO HAVE A GREAT ATTITUDE. I AM A HAPPY PERSON AND I WILL HAVE A POSITIVE ATTITUDE TOWARD OTHERS.”

Have you ever heard the saying? “Attitude will determine your altitude in life”.

Take a daily reading of your attitude level and it will determine your value of the day. We hear every day what a difference attitude can make in our lives but only one person can determine our attitude and that’s YOU! So get up every day and look yourself in the mirror and make the choice to set your attitude on POSITIVE! Remember you have to choose to have a positive attitude.

I could talk all day on this subject but I picked up this story about attitude and I think it says it best:

“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.

Attitude, to me, is more than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures and successes, than what other people think or say or do.

It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break an organization…a company…a church…a school…a home.

The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past…we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way.

We cannot change the inevitable.

The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have. And that is our attitude.

I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me, and 90% how I react to it.
And so it is with you…we are in charge of our attitudes!”

- This was written by Charles Swindoll

Remember we have a choice each day, each hour, each minute, each second what my ATTITUDE will be. The question I ask you today is what do you choose?

I tell you what I choose: “I choose to have a great attitude. I am a happy person and I will have a positive attitude towards others.

Have a GREAT day!

Gary Wilbers

What do you do with your time?

Get this….I heard this morning on the radio that scientist have discovered they actually believe that the world has 25 hours in each day not 24? What would you do if you had an extra hour every day?

Answer this question before you continue…..

Take sleep off your list…how about exercise, work, study, read, spend time with family, learn a new skill, and spend time with friends?

NO we don’t have 25 hours in a day, but do we spend the time we do have on truly the most important things in life? So the question we have to ask ourselves is how will we define our life?

The best method is for us to create a personal mission statement on how I want to live my life. A personal mission statement is a written proclamation of who you are and what you’re about. It should express the contributions you want to make during your lifetime, the things you want to do and the kind of person you want to be.

I find it interesting that most people buy life insurance to protect their life but very few create their own personal mission statement on how they want to live their lives! Your personal mission statement is an affirmation of your highest priorities, which you have determined by your roles and values in life. It is your “Dash”, if you will. That little mark between the dates you were born and the date that indicates when you leave this earth, an extremely important icon.

I would like to share with you my personal mission statement to give you a better understanding and give you encouragement for you to write your own mission statement if you do not currently have one.

“My God is the path I will follow. My family is my number one priority to care for and love. The person I am is made by my integrity as a person. I am a creative individual always looking for ways to be innovative in my life and career. My health and fitness gives me the strength to prepare for the daily challenges of life. I will always share my talents and knowledge with others who are important to me.”

I wrote this on July 17, 2006 and I can tell you since I have determined my highest priorities I have been spending more time in the areas that I mention in my personal mission statement. Now, I don’t profess to be perfect but when you have a roadmap to where you are going it is amazing because you normally follow the right path. You see it wasn’t always like this for me. I was always growing the business and I almost missed out on some of the most important things in life like my children growing up.

I think I have succeeded today in sharing with you some knowledge that I have gained over the years. I will admit I feel great today because I have followed my mission statement.

Action #5: I make people and things flourish by the amount of time and care I give to them.

Spend time with people important in your life. Show those people you love and care for them. Time is a gift from God, use it wisely.

Great quote to think about:

“Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself”
- Leo Tolstoy

Have a GREAT day!

Gary Wilbers

What is YOUR Unique Ability?

As we continue our path of creating our fourth action to live by, this week we will discuss, “My life is about loving and helping people. I have a caring and decided heart.” As we progress in life we sometimes forget the people that are the closest to us and how much they mean to us. As we progress through life we all want to find our purpose in life. I was asked in a training class this question? “What is your Unique Ability in life?” First, let’s define Unique Ability? Unique ability is the essence of what you love to do and do best. There are four characteristics of unique ability:

1. It’s a superior ability that other people notice and value; you are passionate about using it and want to use it as much as possible.
2. It’s energizing both for you and others around you.
3. There’s a sense of never ending improvement---you keep getting better and never run out of possibilities for growth.
4. Because your Unique Ability is fueled by tremendous passion, it can be a very powerful force in the world and create enormous value for you and others.

Now, when you combine talent and passion, you have a recipe for never-ending improvement, energy and excitement and higher and higher levels of achievement.

I will tell you when you answer for yourself what your Unique Ability is; it is very powerful for your continued growth as an individual. My Unique ability is motivating others to find their true passion in life and helping them find what matters in their lives. Over the last several years I have had the pleasure of working more in my unique ability within my life. I have helped others find their unique ability by giving them the opportunity to start a business that they have the passion, skill and drive to make it successful. I feel my unique ability is motivating others to find their direction to reach a higher level for themselves.

So, how do I discover my Unique Ability?
Unique ability shapes your whole way of being—it’s the “YOU” that makes you who you are. Your unique ability shows up in…

Your skills
Your talents
Your characteristics
Your activities
Your creativity and
Your habits

These are some of the means by which it comes out, yet it’s more than any of these: It’s also an expression of your values. If you’ve ever felt the excitement of doing something you excel at and others praise you for, something you’d happily keep doing all day long, you’ve probably experienced your unique ability in action.

Because you use it so naturally and willingly, it’s constantly evolving and improving as you move through life. When you give it room and focus your attention on it that evolution speeds up the value you create for others and yourself.

So as we look at our fourth action: MY LIFE IS ABOUT LOVING AND HELPING PEOPLE. I HAVE A CARING AND DECIDED HEART. My passion is that you will find your Unique Ability that will drive your life!

Have a Great Day!

Gary Wilbers

WHAT MORE CAN I DO?

As I start on writing my blog post, I am going to interrupt the “Ten Daily Actions to Live By” message. As many of you were fortunate to hear Mr. John O’Leary at our Tri-Annual training it makes me reflect back on his message. My hope is that each of you found something that you are using every day in your life from his presentation. They say if a speaker makes you stop and think and you take action to make changes you want to correct, then his message hit a home run. I have been pondering John’s message over the last week and asking myself: “What More Can I do?”

John talked to us about three areas that he framed for our discussion:

1. The Power of One
2. The Power of Why
3. The Power of More

The Power of One message was really the power of love. Love is not always exactly the way we think. In the work place, love can mean do we show others we care? Are we a good team member? Do we give each other support and guidance? This really brings us to our actions. He mentioned we normally respond in two actions: Either in fear or faith (love). Fear comes in many forms but my definition is False Evidence Appearing Real. Faith is the love we show to each other.

This brings us to the Power of Why? Remember him saying if we know our why? We can endure any How? Why do I show up for work every day? Just to get a paycheck? Do we want to make a difference in the people’s lives we serve? When we make a difference it gives us the fuel to overcome our adversities. He talked about knowing your why in each of these areas: Spiritually, Emotionally, Physically, Professionally, Financially, Relationships. When you know you’re WHY you can endure any HOW!

The last area he talked about was the Power of More! What more can I do? This question can be related in every area of your life. I want better relationships with my spouse? What more can I do to show her/him my love. I will be a better team member for my company? What more can I do to show my leader I am passionate about getting better? I want to get in better shape physically? What more can I do to exercise and eat a healthy diet? I want to improve my financial condition? What more can I do to budget and learn new ways in handling money? (This is plug: check out Dave Ramsey 13 week financial peace class coming up soon by Matt Cowell) I want to improve my Spirituality? What more can I do to take time daily for prayers and meditation? I could go on and on and on but you get the point. Ask yourself: What more can I do? This will work for any area of your life. To make changes make a commitment to discipline yourself on your new routine and over time it becomes a habit.

As I close this blog my prayer for each of you will be that you make the changes you want in your life. We are already half way into January; don’t allow yourself to go back to your old ways. Create new habits and keep asking yourself: What more can I do? A great quote I coined speaks to this action:

“It’s your life, why not live the life you want to live”

Have a GREAT day!

Gary Wilbers