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.