Category: Habits - Coach to Expect Success

Quote of the Week - July 22, 2013

7/22/2013

"Do you ever doubt or worry that the sun may not rise tomorrow? Sunrise must come, it's an immutable law of the universe. And so must your dreams if you simply plant good seeds and continue to nurture them." ~ Russ Whitney

Interesting points Russ brings up here. Not sure I doubt that the sun won't come up tomorrow. In fact, that is one thing my dad always would say - "don't worry John, the sun will come up tomorrow." Sometimes I would get worked up about something, worry about it, and my dad would always help bring me back down to earth a little bit.

I think what Russ is talking about here is that we need to have the faith that our dreams are the same way. We need to work at them everyday, just like the sun comes up every day. It goes back to a very simple idea that Mike Litman (best selling author of "Conversations with Millionaires") would always talk about - yet it's more difficult to do than people think. Mike would mention the idea about working on your goals and dreams just 1% everyday. Do little things here and there, everyday that would get you closer to your goals and dreams. He would say that after a month, look as to how far you got toward them. After half a year - wow! Especially after a year would go by... great progress for sure.

This quote struck me right in the nose. It got me thinking about the changes I have to make to start getting the believe and expectation about my dreams and goals. I need to get out there and not only expect that everyday something will get accomplished or started towards them, but also that 1% factor really connects to this point too. Where are you at with this thought? Is this concept something you have thought about before like I have? Is it something that you need to get back to doing everyday, like I do? I always welcome your thoughts, ideas and discussion as I really get something from anyone that takes the time to share. Writing this has helped me remember a 1% choice I can make right now in getting something done. How about you?

Quote of the Week - July 1, 2013

7/2/2013

"If you could get up the courage to begin, you have the courage to succeed." -- David Viscott

When I saw this quote of course I saw it how it related to me. For a long time, having courage to start things has been a problem for me at times. It's amazing that during those times, once I get started on things it gets easier as time goes on. For me, and I think for others too, just to get started on something is the most difficult thing to get through. The worry, the thoughts of how difficult it might be, and yes the thoughts about failure come to mind too.

I was listening to Les Brown yesterday along with some things from Zig Ziglar too. Both speakers had amazing messages and both touched upon this subject. Waiting to get started on doing something due to fear of failing, robs so many people of things that could benefit not only themselves but a great number of other people too. I think for me, that has been an issue for some time. The old saying is that a lesson is repeated until a lesson is learned. That is something that I guess I've been going through for some time now.

Les Brown also brings up another great point. He mentions the idea that the most valuable piece of real estate is the grave yard. I believe he's right. He mentions that most people die with their "music" still in them. All the great ideas they had, but never acted upon. All the great intentions, that never were started. Les mentions that all those great inventions and things that would have helped so many people, are all gone now. Every time I hear Les talk about that, I know he's talking to me. I'm wondering, is he talking to you too? Do you have challenges getting the courage up to get things done or even get things started? As always, I enjoy hearing from others on this subject because I can always use more help in learning about getting better. I also know that other people need help too. Funny thing, Les mentions that too. We need to remember that we all need help in getting better and learning more. We don't have all the answers and cannot do it all on our own. Please, let me know your thoughts and ideas on this and any other items here on my blog.

Quote of the Week - June 24, 2013

6/27/2013

"It's time to break our ties with anything in us that would rather complain about its situation than go to work to change it." - Guy Finley

We always hear about the fact that we have to break ties with OTHER people that complain and are negative all the time. But what happens when that someone is us?

As summer continues hopefully we have some time to relax a little and spend some time thinking about how we can make some changes on ourselves that will produce some new results. In last week's quote - 2 major subject areas came up. Life and People. Those two subject areas are crucial to success for sure. I think the one main piece that fits in with the topic of Life is ourselves. We always seem to get so worked up about what other people say and do, yet the truth is that we can't do anything about changing them at all. The only thing we can do is to work on ourselves.

Another key point to realize and understand sooner than later, is that working on ourselves is not so easy to do. Since we live with ourselves 24/7 and not only do we battle our own inner voice - which studies have shown we feed ourselves more negative feedback than positive - we also take in outside opinions from others as to how good or bad we are doing in life.

This quote really struck a cord with me, a big connection. Looking back throughout my history, I can see that my action steps have been lacking in many areas and that I am really the only one that can do anything about it. Now, I am finally working hard at changing those areas. Once again, I sure do wish I got working on this earlier in my life. But I am also very happy that I'm doing something now about it more than I did before.

What about you? Did you figure out this quote as being true a long time ago? What are some of the success stories that you have with having a victory over yourself that might be a help to others? Always looking for new ideas and new ways of thinking. I'm on a mission to keep getting better.

Quote of the Week - May 27, 2013

6/4/2013

"People do not decide their future; they decide their habits and their habits decide their future." - Coach Juan Langford

As soon as I saw this quote, I knew that I had to share it. Not only did I get it out right away on my Facebook and Twitter accounts, but then I also knew it would be my quote of the week this week for me and my students.

What a true statement for sure. Our habits - how we spend our time, day in and day out; that is what really dictates our future. If there are certain habits that we know are not getting us where we want to go, then we have to make a change for sure. I heard a great thought the other day on one of the podcasts I listen to. This idea was that we can't stop bad habits by themselves without finding a good habit to replace it with. So instead of focusing simply trying to stop a bad habit or bad time waster, we need to find a better habit or a more productive way to spend our time - something to replace it with.

Another part of this quote should get us thinking about where do we want to go? Where do we see ourselves in the next year, 5 years, 10 years? Without having an idea as to where we want to be, we will find great difficulty in knowing what habits we should focus on to get us there. I look at a bracelet that I am wearing now from a friend and mentor, and it has on it D.I.N.O. This stands for Dreaming Is Not Optional. We always should have new ideas to keep getting better at, always looking to improve ourselves. We need to constantly look ahead to see where we are going. Just like in basketball, we have to keep our heads up.

What are you thinking about this quote and how it connects with you? Any thoughts to share? Any questions that this brings up for you? Let me know - I'd be glad to try and help.

Quote of the Week - May 13, 2013

5/15/2013

“The goal in life is not to live forever, the goal in life is to create something that does.” – John Maxwell

John Maxwell always has great thoughts. This is one of the many that I enjoy reading about. I guess as I get closer and closer to 50 years old - still a couple of years away - I get to thinking about the bigger picture about what is life all about. This idea that he brings out, should get all of us thinking. As usual with many success and leadership principles, the earlier you think about some of these things, and then start to implement them into your life, the better off you can be.

Everyone should understand that we can't live forever. But John Maxwell is correct in getting us to think about creating things that do go on and on, even after we are gone. It could be a book, articles, or other writings that we might produce that will be around for a long time. It could be an invention maybe or even starting up a business that goes beyond our years. But I tend to view this as the investments that we can make into other people that are the best things we can create that will last longer than we will.

The investments that we make in our own children that will pass onto others. The way we treat and interact with others; both in and outside of our families will carry on after we are gone. The example on how we lead our lives, do get picked up and noticed by others. If we are leading our lives with positive examples - those will be remembered and used by others, which in turn will be picked up by others. If it's the other way around, then others will use our not-so-positive examples in their lives and affect others with them.

Any thoughts? Are you on your way to creating something that will last beyond your years?

Quote of the Week - April 8, 2013

4/7/2013

"The harder I work, the luckier I get" - Gary Player

With the greatest sporting event in the world coming up this week, The Masters, this quote fits in just right this week. Not only is this quote have something to do with golf, but it also (and more importantly) has something to do with life. Gary Player, the South African golfer who won 3 Masters titles along with 165 total tournaments from around the world, hit this quote just right with golf's connection to life. Actually this holds true for any sport, but the key is we don't have to be any kind of athlete at all to have this work for us in our regular lives.

From what I heard and read about Gary Player, he was a tireless worker in everything he did. To make it all work even better, he was a true gentlemen in all that he did as well. The sooner that we realize that life is all about hard work, and then when we put in that extra effort into the right things in our lives, it's then that we will see a few more opportunities come our way. It's time to figure out how to not only work harder at some things that we got going on in our lives, but also look to work smarter too. As always, it helps to be passionate about what you are doing in your life too. That's another thing to figure out - what fires you up? What do you wake up thinking about every morning that you can't wait to get started on? If you don't have that yet - find it! It makes Gary's quote that much more important to get going on too. What's going on in your life now where you can start working harder and making your own luck? Even if you are at a place where you may not be happy doing what you are doing, figure out some things that you would rather be doing with your life and then work hard to get there. As always, share any thoughts you might have, for it will not only help me, but yourself and others too.

Quote of the Week - March 4, 2013

3/6/2013

“The difficulty lies not so much in developing new ideas as in escaping from old ones.” – John Maynard Keynes

There is a lot of challenge from getting away from old ideas and old habits - for many like me it's a constant challenge to break out into having new ideas. The older we get, the more difficult it seems to be sometimes to developing new ideas. Difficult yes, impossible no.

Some of it depends I think on our dreams. We need to keep them alive and continually out in front of us. I try and get my students to understand that one. It's been said - "if you don't dream and think about it, it won't happen!" We will all end up somewhere in life. It might as well be someplace that we want to be. We need to break away from old ideas and have new ideas in our lives in order to help make that happen.

Another key in helping ourselves to have new ideas is to have good people around us encouraging us to go after our dreams and helping us think of new thoughts and ideas. We all know people that are helped by others to stay just where they are at. Association is a huge part of success as the people we hang around play a big part in us taking on new thoughts and ideas in our futures.

As always, I'm very interested in reading and responding to your thoughts. In fact, that helps me (and others) to develop new ideas and get away from old ones.

Quote of the Week, January 14, 2013

1/15/2013

“No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.” -- Charles Dickens

One of the things that I try and get across to my students is to be a difference maker. I put my weekly picture on my Blackboard sites and it was that exact message. So when I found this quote
and how much it connected with that important idea, I had to get it out there.

When we set out to make a difference with others, that can be done in so many ways. It is something that all of us can do each and everyday with so many people. First, would be to make a difference with yourself. With everything going on in the world, we can make a huge difference with ourselves by working on how we think. By watching our self-talk, making it more positive rather than negative, that can really help ourselves out. We all have critics taking shots at us along with the everyday trials and tribulations taking shots at us too. How we "defend" ourselves from these issues is very important in making a difference with ourselves.

Once we make a difference with ourselves, we are then able to have a huge impact with helping others. Making a difference with others is one of the things that is most needed in today's world. So many people need help in many different ways and you would be surprised to know that you might be the one that can do it with someone that you will see today. So, see who you can help today along with helping yourself. Make it a point every day you can to lighten the burden of someone else.

The few people that have responded to these thoughts, please know you have already helped me, a great deal with your time and thoughts. So, you've already taken care of helping someone - that someone would be me. :-) I appreciate it very much. Leave me your thoughts since it will not only help me, but in turn it will help others too.

Quote of the Week - January 7, 2013

1/7/2013

"Life begins at the end of your comfort zone" - Neale Donald Walsch

When I first saw this statement, it kind of hit my right in the nose. Not only is it a new year, which typically means we review our lives and look to make changes; but it also made me realize I need to stretch my comfort zone. It also got me thinking about you, my students, and how much of an advantage you have over people like me that haven't looked to stretch our comfort zone many times throughout our lives. Please understand, with you being a teenager and if you can start the habit of stretching your comfort zone now, your future will have so many wonderful opportunities. Don't get into a rut or stuck in a box; it really limits all the great things that you can accomplish or go after in life.

What does this quote mean to you? Are there things you want to make changes to do them differently? Does your comfort zone need to be looked at because you know changes are coming for you in the near future? Please understand, you don't want to wait until your mid 30's (10 years ago for me) to start trying to figure out how to expand your comfort zone. As always - I love the fact that I get to learn new things from my students and others every day. So please help me learn some new things by sharing your viewpoints on this quote with me and others.

Quote of the Week for January 2, 2013

1/3/2013

"I used to say, "I sure hope things will change." Then I learned that the only way things are going to change for me is when I change."-- Jim Rohn

Found this quote right before the new year started. I thought it connected really well, maybe just for me, I don't know.

I find myself not that excited about New Year's Eve - from the standpoint of not wanting to go out
and party, going to some bar or a big expensive dinner party, staying up all night, etc. I have been one that really enjoys spending New Years Eve with my wife, my kids, other family members or friends; just playing a game, eating of course and just ending one year and starting another with people that I truly care about.

I do find myself getting excited or looking forward to the new year for a new start, a fresh beginning on things that I know I need to work on or accomplish. I am not sure why I am unable to accomplish things at other times of the year, when we all know it doesn't have to be a new year to get things done or to make changes. All it needs to be is to make the choice to change and then to start the action of making the change(s) that need to be done. The new year does help with the sense of urgency I have, since I know I will be another year older this year. There are new habits I need to form and replace bad habits that I have been doing for so long. There are successful people I need to get around and listen to what they say and watch what they do. So many things and all I have to do is just start doing them.

What about you? What's this quote mean to you? I'm always looking to learn from others... and that means you.