Do you want to show up more creatively for your clients and your colleagues, your family, and your friends?
Do you want to default to thinking about opportunity versus focusing just on problems?
Discovering Hope is full of proactive steps you can take right now, to achieve a more positive mindset or to help maintain the positivity you already have
Getting Positive reveals that more optimism is close at hand
Make your success here and now.
This morning I heard the tragic news of the untimely death of one of our industry peers. This made me feel incredibly sad for his family and friends. This also got me thinking once more, about ‘making the most’ and encouraging others to make the most, of NOW! My mind turned to what is effective/successful use of time.
The truth is, we all have our own versions of what is a great use of time, family and friends are right up there for me. However, I think we collectively place much emphasis on the use of time to be about achieving something way off in the distance. And, our society conditions us that big = success. Be it big: Title, salary, home, car, reputation etcetera.
The common reality is, we quickly get dissatisfied once we reach the top of the hill and look for the next one to surmount. This in itself is not a bad thing as human nature and evolution is dependent on the goal driven and inquisitive aspect of human beings. The bad thing is that we often spend much of our lives fixated on the bigger goals and live frustrated or dissatisfied.
My personal view is that real success is in part about tomorrow’s achievements but in large part it is enjoying the steps that lead to achieving the bigger goals. And it makes sense, as those steps make up the bulk of time and our lives.
Real success is about the simple things in life that we take for granted and ignore when we become completely focused on the bigger things. So, recognize your success today by continuing to be driven but also by acknowledging how far you have already travelled, experienced and by the people who appreciate you today.
Personal Brand
There’s much talk about personal branding but does it really matter when it comes to you? It does, for two reasons:
Defensively – The best way to keep your job is to be known for doing something well that ideally correlates with making money. Ideally, you will have a unique expertise in a discipline, practice or process, or specific knowledge of an industry vertical or own key client relationships.
Offensively – You optimize your chances of success in your current agency or with prospective employers if what you deliver has a uniqueness or ‘stand out’ factor. So it should concern us when Peter Drucker says ‘Most people think they know what they are good at. They are usually wrong.’
There are two aspects to the personal branding ‘thing’ to focus on:
The reality – What you actually do; And, The ‘spin’ – What people perceive you can do, as a result of marketing.
For expert commentary, see the attached list of links.
Stuart
PS. Have a look at my past newsletters
Articles and commentary that might be of interest…
- Personal Branding Is A Leadership Requirement, Not a Self-Promotion Campaign
- The Complete A to Z Guide to Personal Branding
- Personal Branding Trends for 2014 (Part 1)
- Personal Branding Trends for 2014 (Part 2)
- Personal Brand Marketing Tips from 3 Influential Women
- Personal Branding Secrets From Social Media Superstars
- You Need to Add Video to Your Personal Branding Strategy
- How Being Lazy Can Be Your Best Personal Branding Strategy
- How To Amplify Your Personal Brand Through Thought Leadership In 2014
- Personal Branding is Business Branding: An A to Z Guide
- A Case Study: Using Photographs to Elevate Your Personal Brand
Lost and withered on the vine or Simply Submerged Skills
”People who have the opportunity to focus on their strengths are six times as likely to be engaged in their jobs.’ (Tom Rath). And if you are engaged in your job, I’m sure any number of other surveys will reveal how much greater your chances are of being successful, in whichever way you define success.
For most of us, daily reality dictates very often that we do what we need to do simply to get the job done. That’s fine, but if that ‘needs must’ focus takes over your work-life, far from utilizing your key strengths, you may find that skills not only become submerged but underutilized skills become rusty and worse still, wither on the vine.
Disproportionate Achievement
‘Either you run the day, or the day runs you!’ (Jim Rohn)
Making AAA use of your time is based in large part on being clear about which part of the day you are most effective and ensuring you address difficult challenges and lucrative opportunities when you are ‘firing on all cylinders.’ Do this and you will disproportionately achieve. Don’t do this and the most valuable thing you have, ‘time,’ will simply ebb away. Wishing you all AAA enjoyment and results.
“#Patience and #Tenacity”
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“Patience and tenacity of purpose are worth more than twice their weight of cleverness.” (Thomas Huxley) And clarity of purpose, a clear and exciting goal will make patience, tenacity and cleverness so much easier to find. So, get focused!
Great Focus = Enhanced Reality = Optimized Successdddddd
George Lucas said ‘ Always remember, your focus determines your reality.’ And, your reality will be anything but a success if you fail either to:
– Have a clear direction.
– Fail to live in the moment optimizing ‘now’ and the people and situations you are involved in and with today. Nostalgia is great. The future and what it might bring is exciting too. But, it’s not likely you’ll achieve even clearly stated goals if you are not present.
How many of you had meetings today with colleagues or clients that are overtly ‘not there’ as they focused on their PDA’s and not those around them. Virtual reality can be fun when it’s your choice but otherwise it’s a lack of focus.
May the force of awareness be with you..