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Success Comes When You Apply The Wisdom Of The Ages

February 19, 2012 By Leave a Comment

You want to be successful.  Of course you do.  Everybody does.  The good news is you don’t have to start journey to success from scratch.  You can learn what to do and not to do by spending a few minutes meditating on the priceless lessons of those who have preceded you. 

So I urge you … please, please, please refrain from ignorance.  Refrain from having to learn the hard way.  Forget about having to learn everything through trial and error.  It’s too painful and too time consuming. 

Instead, I urge you to learn from O.P.E. or “Other People’s Experience”  … becasue they already know what it takes to be successful on and off the job.  And one of the best lists I’ve ever come across on so-called quick tips for success includes the following things you need to be aware of, you need to do, and you need to avoid.

  • The most destructive habit …………………………. Worry
  • The greatest joy …………………………………………. Giving
  • The greatest loss ………………………………………… Loss of self-respect
  • The most satisfying work ……………………………. Helping others
  • The ugliest personality trait ………………………… Selfishness
  • The most endangered species ……………………… Dedicated leaders
  • Our greatest natural resource ……………………… Our youth
  • The greatest “shot in the arm” …………………….. Encouragment
  • The greatest problem to overcome ………………. Fear
  • The most effective sleeping pill …………………… Peace of mind
  • The most crippling disease …………………………. Excuses
  • The most powerful force in life ……………………. Love
  • The most widespread killer ………………………… A gossiper
  • The world’s most incredible computer ………… The human brain
  • The worst thing to be without …………………….. Hope
  • The deadliest weapon ………………………………… The tongue
  • The two most power-filled words ………………… I Can
  • The greatest asset ………………………………………. Faith
  • The most worthless emotion ………………………. Self-pity
  • The most beautiful attire ……………………………. A smile
  • The most prized possession ……………………….. Integrity
  • The most powerful communication …………….. Prayer
  • The most contagious spirit …………………………. Enthusiasm

Remember to do these good things … and  refrain from the bad things … and you will succeed.

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You Don’t Have The Right To Complain Unless You’re Willing To Do Something

January 30, 2012 By Leave a Comment

I can’t tell you how many people spend their lives complaining.  They complain about the government, the President, the Congress, and every other government official.  I have my complaints too.  I just thank God we live in a country where we have the freedom to verbalize our complaints. 

The problem is … these complainers … more often than not … don’t do anything about their complaints.  They don’t bother to watch the political debates on TV, read the news analyses on the various candidates, or even (heaven forbid!) vote.  They rationalize their lack of doing anything about their complaints by saying, “It wouldn’t do any good anyway.”

I hear other people complain about their marriages, but refuse to go to a workshop on marital communication or talk to a counselor.  I hear parents complain about the problems they’re having with their kids, but they won’t read any books on parenting.  I hear people complain about their physical ailments but go on to say, “You can’t trust doctors.  They’re just out to get your money.”

Well,  if you’re like me, you get mighty sick of all the complaining.  It is demoralizing and demotivating.  Plus, it is just plain unfair.

Let me offer a simple rule of thumb you should use on yourself, you should enforce at home, and you should encourage at work.  And that is … if you aren’t willing to do SOMETHING about your complaint, you have no right to voice it.  You ONLY earn your right to complain when you put some of your own time, money, and/or energy into making things better.

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Motivational Leadership Tip: Good Listeners

November 10, 2011 By 2 Comments

Good listeners are not only popular everywhere, but after a while, they’re also quite intelligent.

The higher people go in management and the more authority they wield, the less they are forced to listen to others. Indeed, the less they listen. In a survey by the research firm Watson Wyatt Worldwide, they found that only 19% of managers say they listen to and take into account the comments of their employees before they make policies.Dr Alan Zimmerman Leadership and Listening

That’s dangerous. As people go higher up in management, so does their need to listen. After all, the farther they get from the firing line, the more they have to depend on others for information.

Quite simply, if you want to be a tuned-in manager, there’s no substitute for listening. And if you want to be a respected manager that brings out the best in others, there’s no substitute for listening.

Take Rick Pitino, for example, the coach of the 1996 NCAA champion University of Kentucky basketball team. Like any other college basketball coach, he had the tough task of convincing the high school prospects to select his college over dozens of others.

He said he used to go to a recruit’s homes and make a dynamic presentation. He would talk about the strengths of the University, the team’s academic support team, the weight training facilities, and the thrill of playing in front of 23,000 devoted fans in Rupp Arena. But then, when he returned home and called the recruit the next day, he’d learn Kentucky wasn’t even on the recruit’s list.

Pitino would be shocked and would ask himself what went wrong. Wasn’t he enthusiastic enough or articulate enough? Eventually he figured out his performance was fine but his approach needed changing.

On future recruits, he would say very little. Essentially he would listen. What did the recruit want in a college and a college basketball team? What did the family want? They did most of the talking.

When he followed up the next day, he would learn Kentucky was in the final two. Why? Because Pitino listened. As he says, “By allowing other people to speak and by clearly valuing their thoughts, I started building a relationship with them instead of giving a performance.” Pitino now recommends a ratio of 4 to 1. Listen four times more than you speak.

Action:

For one day, force yourself to listen four times as much as you speak. Then notice the response you get from others.

 

 

 

 

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Motivational Leadership Tip: Are You Done Doing Nothing?

October 20, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The hard thing about doing nothing is you never know when you’re done.

Sounds silly, doesn’t it? Yet that’s very close to the way a lot of people live their lives. They have no particular direction for their life or their career. They’re just putting in time and hope it all works out. Well it’s not going to work out.

Imagine a plane full of passengers. The captain comes on the intercom and says, “Thank you for choosing our airline. I’m not exactly sure when we’ll take off or when we’ll arrive. As a matter of fact, I’m not even sure where we’re going. Hopefully, we’ll get to where you want to go at the right time. For now, just sit back and enjoy the ride.”

Dr Zimmerman motivational leadership speaker goal setting photo

You would probably think, “That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard — a captain who doesn’t know where he’s going.” Yet how many people who are captains of their own life journey have no idea where they’re going or how they’ll get there?

One thing for certain, if you don’t have a destination or a goal, you’ll end up somewhere you don’t want to be. Are you willing to do that? To let your future be determined by chance or circumstance? Or do you want the ability to shape your future and make your dreams come true?

Obviously, you want the latter. And it starts when you take the time to actually write what you want on a piece of paper. Strange as it may seem, the act of writing tells your subconscious mind that of all the millions of possibilities in the world, these few written items are the things you really want. As soon as you write them out, your mind begins to focus on how to bring those things into your life. Try it. It works! 

Action:

Take ten minutes and write, actually write, out what you want to achieve in your life, your job, your relationship, and any other area that is important to you. Then read the list every morning, and watch for the progress you’ll begin to make.

 

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Motivational Leadership Tip: Good will takes a while; bad will takes just a moment.

October 14, 2011 By Leave a Comment

If you’re in the customer service business, you know that  customer satisfaction, enthusiasm, and loyalty are not instantaneous. Goodwill- is built over time and through several acts of kindness.Dr Zimmerman Building Customer Loyalty

Unfortunately, months of good will can be destroyed by three seconds of sarcasm or one thoughtless remark. It’s like the sign at the gas station during the week of the high school reunion, “Welcome Home, Alumni.” Under it was written, “No out-of-town checks accepted.”

To make sure you’re building good will with your customers, ask yourself two questions every day. First, how can I make my customers feel pleased, surprised, or special today? Your customers can probably purchase your goods or services somewhere else, but not everyone else is consciously trying to make their customer feel pleased, surprised, or special.

Second, what turns off my customer? You’ve got to know what turns off your customers and then not do any of those things. You can’t make missteps or misstatements, like the ad I saw at an auto dealership, that read, “Why go anywhere else and get cheated when you can come here.” Remember bad will takes just a moment.

 Action:

Fill in the blank. “I impress my customers when _________,” and list 10 to 20 items. Now do at least one of those things with every customer you meet today.

 

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Life is about Taking Risks

October 6, 2011 By Leave a Comment

“If you’re not making mistakes, you’re not taking risks, and that means you’re not going anywhere.” 

Almost everything you want in life requires some risk. If you don’t reach out to that difficult colleague, you may be stuck with a poor relationship. If you don’t try to improve your product, it may become obsolete. If you don’t find some new ways to romance your spouse, he/she may think you don’t care. Dr Alan Zimmerman taking risks

Of course, not all risk pays off. You could reach out to that difficult colleague only to be rebuffed. You could improve your product, and it may not sell. You could plan out a special evening with your spouse and have him/her fall asleep.

But personally, I like what Babe Ruth said, “Never let the fear of striking out get in your way.” An effective person knows that it’s okay to take a risk and fail as long as he earns from the risk.

On the other hand, an ineffective person plays it safe and doesn’t take many risks, but of course, he doesn’t have many learnings or growing experiences either. He just “gets by” while the effective person keeps moving on to bigger and bigger victories.

Besides that, taking a few risks just makes life more enjoyable. It’s like the elderly man who was addressing his grandchildren. “Boys, I’ve never taken a drink, never eaten dessert, never ridden a motorcycle, never gone to bed after 10 p.m., and never even looked at a woman other than my wife. And you know what? Tomorrow I celebrate my 100th birthday.” After a pause, a voice from the back piped up and asked, “Celebrate? How?”

Action:

Take one little risk today, and no matter what happens, win or lose, ask yourself what you learned from your risk. Then go out and take a similar risk next week, but use your previous learning to be even more successful this time.

 

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Courage to Dream

September 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment

I have always thought Robert Schuller’s book titled Tough Times Never Last but Tough People Do was a great title, and I think the book may be more relevant now more than ever. These are tough times, and we all need to be tougher than the times.

So how do we do that? We need to think and act with courage. We need to boldly step out and speak out. It doesn’t matter if we’re concerned about the economy, our work-life balance, or our national destiny. This is not the time for fear, negativity, and comfort-zone living. This is the time for courage.

Of course, courage is a rather vague concept. So let me be specific. I believe that we all need to be practicing three types of courage. The first is the COURAGE TO DREAM.Dr Alan Zimmerman Courage to Dream photo

If you have ever heard me speak, I strongly believe in the need for positive thinking. Originally, I thought everybody would agree with such a noble concept. That’s not the case. Cynics call positive thinkers crazy.

But who really is crazy? The play, “The Man of La Mancha,” raises that very question. Is Don Quixote, The Man of La Mancha, crazy for only seeing the positive possibilities in the world, or is the world crazy because it only sees the negative realities?

 I would suggest that the crazy people are the negative people. All they see and talk about are the negatives of society. By so doing, they reinforce negativity.

By contrast, the positive people give the world a dream. They point out the good in the world and in the people around them. By reminding people of their goodness, their potential, and their possibilities, people begin to believe it and behave it.

How about you? Do you still have the COURAGE TO DREAM? I hope so.  Please share with us what your dreams are.  What are you doing to make those dreams a reality?

I mentioned at the beginning of this article that I believe there are three types of courage: Check back next week as we discuss the Courage to Speak Out.  

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Self-Motivation: Do It Anyway, Just For The Good Of It

September 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment

When you ask some people why they do certain things, they’ll say, “I did it just for the h_ _ l of it.”  What a lousy reason. 

I would contend that the best people, the most successful people don’t waste their time doing things “just for the h _ _ l of it.”  They do things FOR THE GOOD OF IT.  In other words, whatever they do is for their good or the good of others. 

Oh, you may not always get rewarded or recognized when you do things simply because they are “good” things or even the “right” things to do.   But you can’t help feeling better about yourself when do things for the “good” of it, and you just might help a few other people in the process.

So the next time … or every time … you’re about to do something, take a second to think about your motivation.  Why are you doing it?  If you’ve got a “good” reason or if your action is going to do some ”good,”  go ahead and do it.

That’s what Mother Teresa taught, and teachers don’t come any better than her.   She had these verses written on the wall of her home for children in Calcutta, India, and some even say she had these verses in her own room.  They went as follows:

 People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered.  Forgive them anyway.

 If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.  Be kind anyway.

 If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies.  Succeed anyway.

 If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you.  Be honest and sincere anyway.

 What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight.  Create anyway.

  If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous.  Be happy anyway.

  The good you do today, will often be forgotten.  Do good anyway.

  Give the best you have, and it will never be enough.  Give your best anyway.

  In the final analysis, it is between you and God.  It was never between you and them anyway.

The verses seem to be based on a composition originally written by Dr. Kent M. Keith, but Mother Teresa put more a spiritual spin on them.  Despite that, her international fame helped the verses spread to millions around the world.

But just in case you’d like the original version, here is the way Dr. Keith put it.  He called them “The Paradoxical Commandments.”

People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.  Love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.    Do good anyway.   

If you are successful, you win false friends and true enemies.   Succeed anyway.   

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.   Do good anyway.   

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.    Be honest and frank anyway.

The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.     Think big anyway. 

People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.   Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.  Build anyway.  

People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.  Help people anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth.  Give the world the best you have anyway.

In my experience, if you follow these “commandments,” you can seldom go wrong.  And you’ll be doing good … most of the time … anyway.

 

 

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How To Separate Your Wishes From Your Goals

August 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Very few people merely stumble onto success.  To achieve success, you need a goal or a few goals.  And they need to be real goals, not some wishy-washy wants such as “I wish I could” or “Maybe some day I’ll get to” statements.  Wishes are the domain of the lazy.  Goals are the province of those who are willing to struggle for what they want … and not give up until they get it.

To separate your wants from your goals, try this exercise.  Make a list of the things you want.  Beside each one, using a scale of 1 to 10, write how much work and sacrifice you are willing to put into each one of the items.  One is “not lifting more than two fingers to accomplish it” and ten is “prepared to work on this item day in and day out, no matter how I feel.” 

Take your time.  Think deeply about each of the items you want, and try to imagine how much you would be willing to give up to attain that item.

Now review your list.  Are there goals that have a “work” and “sacrifice” score of less than 8?  Throw them away; they are merely wishes that are wasting your time and energy.  Let them go.  Now pick the out the ones that want the most

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Problem Solving: It’s Done With Common Sense, Not Politcal Correctness

August 22, 2011 By 1 Comment

The world is in a heap of trouble right now ... with problems big enough to take down every country. But the world has always overcome its problems because people have eventually gotten around to using their common sense.

But things are different these days.  People are being badgered into thinking common sense is old fashioned and somewhat demeaning.   People are being shamed into using words of political correctness instead of speaking the truth.   And that can lead into stagnation, stalemate, and defeat.  

Perhaps that's why an obituary was printed in "The London Times," an obituary that was meant to wake people up and get them onto the business of problem solving.  It read as follows:

"Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:  

- Knowing when to come in out of the rain;

- Why the early bird gets the worm;

- Life isn't always fair; and

- Maybe it was my fault. 

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).  His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.  

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion. 

Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses, and criminals received better treatment than their victims.  Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.  

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.  

Common Sense was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust, by his wife, Discretion, by his daughter, Responsibility, and by his son, Reason.  

He is survived by his 3 stepbrothers:   

- I Want It Now

- Someone Else Is To Blame

- I'm A Victim  

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing.

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