I am free to choose the action I take and I am responsible for the outcomes
Archive for the 'Contribution' Category
Toastmasters is a very positive organisation that provides a supportive learning environment for learning public speaking, communication and leadership skills in a low-risk format. The types of people who are attracted to join and stay in Toastmasters are very positive and sharing.
In this facilitated discussion with a group from one of China’s highest quality club - Shanghai Leadership Toastmasters Club - we talked about ways to use the skills used in Toastmasters and apply them in other areas of our life, such as health, wealth and contribution.
The principle is based on leveraging the activities that you spend the most time on. The more applications you can find for a given skill, the higher your ROTI (return on time invested) will be.
You can link to my Toastmasters page here. Or you can download the audio file directly here. (MP3, 18.3MB)
I was recently invited to speak at the 10 year celebration of Toastmasters in China. The first club to charter in China put on a wonderful show with almost 300 attending. I shared some insights into life changes and leadership through the metaphors of three heros. Today, I have enclosed a link to the second hero: The Bamboo Leader.
Click to play the 8 minutes 48 seconds video:
Have you ever found yourself waiting for the “right moment” when everything will be just right so you can get started with your plans to {insert your change here}, examples may include lose weight, go scuba diving, call your parents, move to the countryside.
Many people I talk to are waiting for this perfect moment when all the stars are aligned, the inbox gets cleared and the children are old enough and …. and so on. Here’s the bad news. There is no such thing as a perfect time to start something. And here’s the good news. There is no such thing as a perfect time to start something. So you better start now. This type of procrastination is also linked to the pursuit of perfection. Not wanting to start until “something” is perfect. We can learn a lot from nature. A flower doesn’t wait until the weather is perfect before coming out. It gets ready to bloom every day. It is primed and ready to grow. The beauty of nature is created through intense activity.
Marketing whizz Jay Abrahams says that a mediocre marketing plan implemented consistently over a long period of time, will outperform a “perfect” marketing plan. Successful companies, like Nike’s Just Do It, stick to a message and use it consistently. Abrahams points out that it’s often advertising companies who encourage companies to change their messaging so that they can bill for new campaign creative work. The question for you is- are you putting perfection before consistency?
When coaching clients, I always look for small actions that can be made immediately. Action and the momentum this builds is the most important factor in moving a client towards an important goal. Sometimes a client will want to spend a long time talking about and analysing a situation from five different angles and talk theoretically about what could have happened if he did X, Y and Z. This is all very therapeutic and can help create awareness. But success is built on action. Consistent action towards a specific goal.
What goal have you been putting off waiting for a better situation? Identify one small action that in 15 minutes would put you closer to your goal. Have you been meaning to take off some of that winter weight but still waiting for the weather to get warmer? Book a day session in a gym. Take a friend. Go there and do some light exercise. Have a sauna. Enjoy the action you are taking. Always look for the small actions that when applied consistently on a daily and weekly basis will see you towards your end goal.
One of my goals this year is to compete in 3-4 Olympic distance triathlon races. Each event takes me around 3 hours and is considered a full marathon equivalent race. While each event is manageable in itself (1.5km swim, 40km bike and 10k run), adding them together makes it a challenge! The best way to get ready for these type of endurance events is consistent exercise. Though with a new book launch, a busy consulting practice and international travel it can be difficult to find the time. But I know that even a 15 - 20 min run three times a week is better for me than waiting and doing a one hour run once a week. Small drops all add up.
Take action: Look at one of your important goals for 2009. Find one that you have not taken action on in the last 2 -3 weeks. Identify a single action you can take that can be completed in less than 20 minutes. Take action on it today. Start looking for other 20 minute actions you can take in the next week.
At a forum in Shenzhen, pundits zeroed in on 2008’s major trends in China’s book publishing industry.
1. The global economic chill has made titles in macro-economics hot, hot, hot. Since the stock market is in the doldrums, investment tips have little practical use and have given way to primers on economics. All the fancy financial terms have served as pointers for more systematic knowledge in how to run an economy, or avoid running it into the ground.
2. This year marks the 30th anniversary of China’s reform and opening-up policy. Books that recall the old days or sum up the achievements of the past three decades have piled up in bookstores.
3. Academic books published during the Republic of China years are being “re-discovered” en masse, ranging from literature, history and all branches of social sciences. This represents a restoration of the missing link caused by political and cultural schism.
4. The Mao Dun Literature Award, an honor for novels, is showing clout in the market. This year’s winners, published in previous years, have all found their way into more conversations and more prominent display shelves. Jia Pingwa’s Qin Tune and Mai Jia’s Backstabbing are two standouts.
5. The Sichuan earthquake in May caused heartache, and sent professional writers into the disaster zone. They wanted to be part of this collective consciousness, contributing to it with depth and unconventional angles. Investigative reports and poetry are two of the main genres they take an interest in.
6. The election of Barack Obama in the United States has made books about the first African-American president a hot topic. Many of the bestsellers about him - or by him - have been or are being translated into Chinese.
7. Psychological health is a major concern to book readers in 2008. It is a continuation of the health and fitness trend in publishing, which started two years ago.
8. The Beijing Olympics have been a predictable stimulus for book editors. As many as 300 publishers across the nation rolled out various titles covering every nook and cranny of the sporting event.
9. This year also marks the 10th anniversary of China’s “online literature”. The Internet has put many unknown writers into the spotlight. Its power is undeniable but it’s more a popularity contest.
10. Tokugawa Ieyasu, a series of Japanese historical novels, have found a huge audience here in China.
(China Daily December 30, 2008)
You can see orginal posting here.
Listened to a speech by Daniel Smith this week and he mentioned a question that I wrote down. It was an abstract, big picture question. At first I passed over it as it seemed too vague to be useful, but then I realized that the answer to this question was an important reality check on whether my own life journey was heading in the right direction. The question was:
In the next 15 years what will you do to make the world a better place?
The lens that I look at the world comes under three categories: health, wealth and contribution (in that order). I asked myself would the vision I have for my own dreams actually make the world a better place.
Health
Health is always number one on my list of goals. Without good physical health you limit your energy and potential to live a dynamic life. Whether you like sports, going to the gym, hiking or endurance events, all these are key to making the world a better place. People who exercise believe in self-improvement and are often competitive. I think it’s a real shame that some schools forbid sports day on the grounds that some of the children will lose. This is teaching children something terrible because like it or not the world is a very competitive place and whatever your chosen field you need to be competitive- whether you are stock trading or raising funds for a community project. Being competitive means always improving. Sports teaches this to children in a fun way. Even if you lose today, you can come back tomorrow, train harder and have a chance the next week to compete and win. That is much closer to a winning life philosophy.
During the next 15 years I intend to continue my participation in triathlon races around the world in beautiful locations like Lombok, Thailand, Malaysia. I also will return to another love - scuba diving. This leads onto an important part of outdoors sports, the environment. I am more aware of the importance of maintaining a balanced ecosystem. As I become more involved in these sports over time I will direct my efforts to support efforts that are working to educate people about how to be a responsible tourist.
Good health will keep my energy high, allow me to share my talents and increase my awareness for how I can contribute to keeping nature beautiful. What are your health goals and dreams? How do they help the world around you to become a better place.
Wealth
Many people still have a negative mindset towards money and wealth. Growing up an Irish Catholic we were taught: “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19:24). Which is not exactly an resounding endorsement for wealth creation!
Media sensationalizes wealthy people by focusing on their material possessions, wild and debauched lifestyles and other trivial parts of an abundant lifestyle. But wealth is more than that. Wealth creation is a important part of my philosophy of an abundant life. It says that I am responsible for my own wealth, I have the power to influence and there is absolutely unlimited “wealth” in the world. Having wealth is about having more opportunities to live a life of purpose, passion and sharing.
In 15 years I will have a successful publishing company which spreads important skills around the world to millions of people. Education is a key value for me. I went to a great school on a scholarship and I want to share that opportunity with children and adults everywhere in the world. Educating yourself is an important step to freedom. Wealth creation is the result of that process.
How much wealth do you wish to create in the next 15 years? How will you create it? Will you exchange your time for money? Will you build a business? Are you an avid investor. Allow yourself to imagine how you will use this wealth to create a wonderful life for yourself, your friends and your family. Because once you have a healthy life and you have created wealth, the third part is the most rewarding: contribution.
Contribution
Sharing my talents with the world is my main life purpose. In many ways, I see this as the main life purpose for us all. We all have abilities which other people can benefit from. By maximizing our ability to share them with the world is the journey I believe we are all on. Consider the people we admire. Don’t we admire the fact that they have the ability to influence and contribute to others, more than just their singular abilities. I like Michael Phelps more for his grounded approach to life than for his freakish talent. When he has stopped swimming this attitude will take him further even than his amazing sports achievements. Even if you are the smartest person in the world, this talent is only as good as your ability to share it with other people. Is this perhaps why the most intelligent people around us are never the highest paid? They believe that their internal talent is enough to take them to the top, whereas the less-gifted among us realize that it is only the ability to connect, support, share and build relationships that will help them rise above the more intelligent.
I founded my business on the principle of giving. We have supported Love without Boundaries since 2005 and now my new book has connected with The Library Project to ensure that enlightened self interest will also educate orphans in the rural parts of China. As my wealth grows, so does my ability to contribute. I read Randy Gage’s newsletter this week and he is very direct about his enjoyment of the material parts of life. He talked about buying USD10,000 pairs of shoes and USD250,000 cars. And if this makes you uncomfortable ask yourself why. He also contributed US300,000 to charities. That doesn’t mean he is a saint but isn’t that a tremendous way to live. To have the options to contribute massively to the worthy causes that turn you on.
How will you turn your health and wealth into contribution. What causes do you stand for? Education is my main cause but what’s yours? How are you going to continue your expanding contribution as you become wealthier? Feels good just thinking about it, doesn’t it?
Spend a few minutes today and write down some big, big dreams about how your dream health, wealth and contribution goals will help the world become a better place in the next 15 years. If your read your goals and they seem unbelievable, then great because no one has done anything of note that didn’t first sound unbelievable to themselves. Keep the picture in your mind and keep believing. Have a great week!
One of my own self-development targets for this year is to read a book a week. I have a big library of books which I haven’t completed (or started!) and I really want to tap into the wisdom inside them. I also just ordered 27 books from Amazon so I will have a full year of learning ahead. Can’t wait! In “Book of the Week” I share with you the main points (as I see them) from one of these books.
I just sat down and went through Tim Ferriss’ great book on lifestyle design. Tim has an excellent blog here which I recommend you check out. Here is a summary of what I took-away from this reading:
Become a member of the NR (New Rich)
Don’t retire. Combine rest and work throughout life with mini-retirements. Relative income is more important than absolute income ($/hr). NR make USD5,000/hr. Focus on being productive instead of busy. Focus on your strengths not weaknesses. Use Definition – Elimination – Automation - Liberation. This is used to organise the content of the book.
Stressed?
Use eustress not distress to motivate you. Eustress is a term coined by Hans Selye, and defined in the model of Richard Lazarus (1974) as stress that is healthy or gives one a feeling of fulfillment or a feeling that you have done something great. (Source: wiki)
On setting goals
Doing the unrealistic is easier than doing the realistic. What would excite me? (rather than what are my goals?). Use Dreamlining (6 months and 12 months). Spreadsheets are included with the book and on Tim’s website.
On productivity
Time management out, elimination in. Increase personal productivity between 100 and 500%. Doing something unimportant well does not make it important. Use Parkinson’s Law: a task swells to fit the time given to it. Ask yourself three times a day “Am I being productive or just active?” The key to having more time is doing less. Define a short “to do list” and a “not to do” list. What would you do if you could only work 2 hours a day? 2 hours a week? Ask yourself: “If this is the only thing I accomplish today, will I be satisfied with my day?” Batch common time consuming tasks together (emails, phone calls).
Low information diet
Stop watching TV, don’t read newspapers. (W: totally agree with this, haven’t had a TV since 2006). When reading ask “Will I definitely use this information for something immediate and important? Check email twice a day at 12pm and 4pm.
On automation
Build a system to replace yourself. Eliminate before you delegate. Use a VA (virtual assistant). Select on cost per completed task (not per hour). Use a VA firm rather than a solo operator. Never use a new-hire VA. Create new unique login and passwords for your VA. Hiring a VA (Ask for excellent English). Find a product or service “muse” to put your income on autopilot (W: Tim focuses mostly on products). Micro-test your products.
In conclusion, this book is a great refresher on lifestyle design. I especially like Tim’s idea of having goals that excite you. I took a look through my own list and to be honest - although many goals were worthy - they didn’t all excite. I went through the dreamlining process and came out with some more exciting goals. Don’t let the book title put you off - it’s more of a challenge than an actual target. Start your journey to join the New Rich this year!
As we move into uncertain times in 2009, just how important is it to be clear about your own personal path? I believe it’s essential. Ancient wisdom says you won’t know if you have succeeded if you don’t have a target. If you don’t choose a path to walk down, you will never reach your destination.
Pick an area that you want to move forward with in 2009. Perhaps in your personal life, family, finances or business career.
What’s your promise?
My big promise to the world is to:
Be the catalyst to help you unblock the {communication} obstacles that are stopping you from sharing your unique talents with the world.
So whenever I consider an area of my life that I want to improve, I always start with my big promise. If I was considering business, I might look at ways I could help people become aware of their obstacles (like with a blog). I could create products, write books or audio products which can provide practical tips and solutions to these obstacles. All my activities are hooked on my big promise.
I may refine my promise to suit the category, so for a business goal, it may be:
“To become the home of practical wisdom on overcoming common communication obstacles.”
Now that you have a promise, think about the goals that will help you reach this promise. It will likely be a series of steps or goals. For example, it may start with talking to some friends to better understand common obstacles. It may involve writing an article. You may need to hold a seminar or workshop. For example, I plan to contribute more through using social media tools. This requires a plan on writing articles, using social media tools, learning which ones are most suitable for me, taking part in the communities and so on. I have blocked out time on my calendar of around nine hours a week to dedicate to learning and using this channel.
What are the conditions for success?
How do you know that you are succeeding? Most people spend a lot of time planing their goals in the first few weeks of the year and then forget about them until December when it’s too late to course-correct. If your promise was a table, then your conditions for success would be the legs. It needs to be obvious how well you are doing at any particular time. It’s obvious if a table only has three legs! So one of my conditions for success in my blog writing is that I will always be one week ahead in my article scheduling. It’s easy to see whether I am on track. I just look at the scheduled posts and can see immediately how many articles I have written. Make your goal tracking as quick and easy as that. These small “brushstrokes” all contribute to your final masterpiece. Break your goals into bite-size pieces and track how you are doing.
Who is responsible for them?
Some of your goals may involve more than yourself. Use the same process but also add in accountability. Have clear areas of responsibility and frequent check-ins to make sure everyone and everything is on track. Social media tools like Facebook can help here.
Reaching any goal is a process. Set yourself a clear path (and a clear reason) and you are more likely to stay the course as the buffets of reality unfold. Good luck and have an abundant year ahead!
Inspired by interview between Sean Redmond and Roger Hamilton. Listen here.
If you need to accelerate your progress in finding clarity in your path and taking steps to succeed, drop me a line. I help my coaching clients get clarity in their lives and I offer an initial free telephone consultation without obligation.
Do you suffer from upset stomach, headache, backache, insomnia, anxiety, depression, or anger? All these are caused by chronic stress. If you live in a large city, chances are you feel stress. Traffic, people, pollution all contribute, so how important is your health? I have decided to block out a short weekend every month (actually 10 months) in 2009 to get out of the city to breathe some fresh air and stimulate my creativity with a change of environment. I recently took a trip to Ningpo and stopped off for a hot spring in a nearby mountain retreat. I could literally feel profound changes happening as I sat in the sunshine and relaxed:
Motion prompts creativity
The journey is as important as the destination. I felt released and mapped out a framework for my next book. As we crossed one of the largest bridges in the world, ideas flowed and I filled up my notebook. I looked up at one point and noticed everyone else on the coach was asleep. What stimulates your creativity and how can you create the time and space to enjoy it?
Destress in sunlight
It’s hard to be stressed when you are sitting in sunlight and breathing fresh air. Spending 10 hours a day in an office and eating in the building canteen blocks your energy levels. Find a way to relax during the day through visiting the gym, taking a walk in a nearby park or sitting in a quiet room. Visit a hot spring or sauna every couple of months, you come out feeling clean and fully relaxed.
As we move into 2009 - which will be a challenging year - you need to find ways to manage the stress that lies ahead. Time block an away day each month. The world comes back into perspective when you are closer to nature. I have blocked ten short trips in 2009 and I can’t wait. I am feeling more relaxed already!
Stress can be a major factor in holding you back from reaching your full potential to create wealth and contribute to the world. If you would like to accelerate your life change by working with a coach, The Change Catalyst can work with you to provide powerful tips, tools and strategies to live a life of purpose, balance and more importantly - good health. Contact The Change Catalyst today for an initial consultation without obligation.
I live in a city of 16 million people and I am amazed at what a small world it is. Just yesterday at a gathering for trainers and facilitators in Shanghai I bumped into a friend I had not seen for 8 years and last met in Taipei. Coincidence? Perhaps. But it seems to happen all the time. Let me share a recent example.
Last week, I was asked to evaluate a speech for one of my mentees, Cher, who I had not met for about six months. During a quick conversation as we caught up we found the following connections:
1. I had been a charity auctioneer for the British Chamber Charity Ball from which I was asked to host a similar event for SCAA from which I was asked to host one for Hands On Chengdu.
2. During the Hands On Chengdu event I met one of the organizers, Fang, who was a friend of Cher.
3. Fang’s husband works in the same company as Cher.
4. Another one of Cher’s colleague had just emailed me via the IAF web site on a question about facilitation.
Just for another connection during the event I met a young man who attended a university speech I gave four years ago on “Finding your Passion” - which he still remembered.
It was a good reminder than every little interaction affects so many connection now and in the future. We live in an interconnected world where six degrees of separation often seem to be just one or two degrees. The six degrees of separation started out to link every actor to Kevin Bacon through six or less degrees. One degree of separation are the people you know directly. Two degrees are the people who your friends know but you don’t know and so on. Business networking sites like LinkedIN are built on this principle.
There are lots of books and sites on networking but here are a couple of my simple networking guidelines:
A. Be nice to people
If you assume that every single person you meet will play some important part in the success (or failure) of your future, how would you treat them? Even if you only meet a person once, they still can affect your future by referring people to you, making connections and talking you up to their friends. Be nice. Treat everyone you meet like a long-lost buddy.
B. Pay-forward (not payback)
Instead of waiting for someone to help you, so you can then “pay them back”, why not pay-forward. Be proactive. What service and support can you offer your friends? How can you contribute more to the organisations you are a part of? The best way to build up a name for yourself is through step up and offering help to others.
As we move into the new year, we all set goals in health and wealth. How about setting a few goals under “contribution”. Choose areas that you are passionate in and have something to offer. You will be surprised to find that this selfless contribution accelerates yourself in other areas. People remember you more and in a better light. Be nice. Contribute.
Warwick’s publisher of his book The One Minute Presenter have pledged that for every copy sold, a book will be bought for The Library Project who install library in schools for orphans and under-priviledged children across China.
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