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!