Archive for the ‘Traits of Successful Coaching Students’ Category

Most adults have an infinite amount of errands to be done. If we put off the things we want to do until we get everything done, the things that are important to us will never happen. This statement refers to the activities that help us unwind and recharge our batteries, like running, reading, quilting, swimming, napping, playing tennis or going for evening walks. 

We often feel so beholden to our schedules that we are willing to trudge through a never ending amount of tedious tasks without ever doing what we enjoy. This sad routine prevents us from gleaning enjoyment from our days and actually decreases productivity. It may sound counterintuitive to think that focusing on a long list of tasks would make us less productive, but it’s true. With nothing special to anticipate and work toward, we lose our ability to work efficiently. For example, if you schedule a two-hour block of time each day for yoga, you will most likely work harder and smarter the rest of the day to accomplish your remaining tasks in the abridged amount of time. 

Don’t feel guilty about taking the time to do what you love. As long as you maintain a balance in your life, you are making the right decision. Your favorite activities keep you healthy, happy and productive. So as you plan your schedule, treat your time equally. Don’t forsake the things you love just because they don’t fit on a typical “To Do” list.

You should set goals, but not every goal is a good goal. And as much as you’d like goal setting to be simplified into a nice acronym or three easy steps, the fact of the matter is that goals are a little more complicated than that. Goals are more than arbitrary objectives to strive for; they need to address the big picture.

So, you shouldn’t set goals:

• Which Are Out Of Your Control Don’t set goals which are dependent on the actions of others. If your goal is to bring in five more clients, your achievement of that goal requires those five clients to agree to become your clients, which may not happen. Instead, focus on what actions you can take – what is within your control – which could lead to more clients.
• Which Act As False Motivator Sometimes we set goals just for the sake of having goals. We’ve been taught it’s a good thing to do so we do it. The goal in and of itself shouldn’t be the motivation; and don’t allow any additional reward associated with achieving the goal to take over. It’s about improvement, not prizes.
• Which Don’t Lead To Self-Improvement Goals that only address temporary rewards or short-term results don’t need to be set. They may include some short-term issues along the way, but they should be part of a bigger goal – one that focuses on improvement and progress; not just achievement.
• Which Are Set By Others There are few things worse than others telling you what you should be striving for and achieving. It’s difficult to be motivated or positively affected by goals other people set for you. So take those kinds of initiatives and make them your own; personalize them and improve upon them. Use those suggestions from others and a jumping-off point for your own ideas and desires.

According to some people, work’s dirty secret is that it requires effort. They view the exertion required by work as a terrible deterrent and would prefer to avoid any activity that requires concerted brain power and might result in sweat. Yet the majority of these same people want success. In fact, many of them actually expect it. They feel a sense of entitlement and want results delivered to them.

The idea that we will be successful merely because we are “due” is ridiculous. There is no timeframe for unearned success. It doesn’t come by default merely because it hasn’t been enjoyed in the past. You can be unsuccessful in your 50s just as easily as you were in your 20s, because there’s nothing inevitable about it. If anything, a protracted lack of success makes future success less likely. We are more adept at what we are comfortable with, so if we’ve spent years in a malaise, that’s what comes naturally. More effort will likely be required in order to reap rewards. 

By sincerely seeking success, opposed to agitatedly waiting for it, we put ourselves in the perfect position for results. We are actively engaged in the process and are learning the skills that will help us extend our success. And that’s the problem with fluky success that might strike a lucky and lazy individual. While this does happen once in a great while, the individual has little hope of making it last. They will lack the contextual skills necessary to develop the success and extend it into the future. Their ineptitude ensures that it will go down as a true “one-hit wonder.”

Not only is earned success more likely to last, it’s also more satisfying. There is a cause and effect relationship between work and accomplishment, making the process a familiar one to those who know what it takes and are willing to commit to their dreams. The rewards of focused work are immense and they don’t diminish with time.

“A man’s errors are his portals of discovery.”

–James Joyce 

Mistakes are inevitable in life, but learning from them is not. We must dedicate ourselves to improvement if we wish to make the most of these opportunities for growth. Rather than quickly sweeping a mistake under the rug, we should take the time to understanding what was done wrong and how it could be done better in the future. 

Many of history’s greatest figures have spoken on this subject. Albert Einstein, the legendary scientist, suggested that anyone who doesn’t make mistakes isn’t trying anything new. Truly, mistakes are a sign of growth and development. They serve as mile markers as we leave our comfort zone and push into new territory. 

By accepting mistakes as a necessary byproduct of life, we can use them constructively. Each error should be examined and used as a “portal of discovery.” This thoughtful approach to improvement will ensure a life full of accomplishment and worth.

Before I left home as a seventeen year old to begin my first year of college, my mom gave me an odd and metaphorical pep talk about the experience I was about to have. She compared getting my degree to eating an elephant. She said that the prospect of getting a degree was intimidating and seemingly impossible from where I stood, but that I had the opportunity to create a lifestyle for myself that would allow me to achieve it. It would take a long time, but if I worked on it every day I would look back as a sophomore, with half of the “elephant” gone and I’d be motivated by the progress. On graduation day I reflected on my achievement and was surprised by how simple it was to accomplish. I was able to hold down a part time job, maintain a social life, and still graduate on time. I was busy, sure, but the lifestyle I maintained was perfectly sustainable for the four years I was in college.

Anyone that wants to lose weight or accomplish any kind of goal that takes more than a month or two to finish needs to make their goal a part of their lifestyle. Crash dieting, for example, is ineffective because it can’t be sustained. Long term goals are most likely to be achieved when they are broken up into small and simple tasks that can be worked on daily.

If you spend time thinking about and working toward your goals every day, it will become a habit. You will get closer to achieving your goals every day without getting burnt out. Before you know it, you’ll be looking back from the finish line and wondering where the time went.

It’s been said before, but I’ll repeat it again and again: showing up is half the battle. I re-learn this lesson twice a week around 8:00 when my yoga class is about to start. I’ll be sitting on the couch after a long day at work and a nice dinner and all I’ll want to do is loaf and watch a movie. My husband practically has to put my shoes on for me and push me out the door, but that first step off the couch is literally the hardest thing about going to class. The drive is easy, checking in to the gym is easy, walking into class and rolling out my mat is easy. The class itself is not easy, but once I’m in it, it’s easy to summon the motivation to push myself.

 As usual, action precedes motivation. If you can look as that first step as a simple, isolated task like “I’m just going to put my shoes on” or “I’m just going to write the first paragraph” it’s easy to set the wheels in motion for further accomplishment.

“Men’s best successes come after their disappointments.”
 

Henry Ward Beecher

Every failure is a lesson, and the great disappointments in life are lessons that are hardest to forget. Look at each challenge and disappointment as an opportunity and learn from your mistakes. The people that succeed in life are the ones that understand their failures, learn the necessary lessons, and pick themselves up one time more than the rest of us. Success is meaningless without its contrast, and that much sweeter when we experience both.

You want to make money. You want to save for retirement. You want to quit your day job.

You want to double your revenue this year. You want to offer more products or services. You want to expand your marketing.

These are all worthwhile and important goals, and your goals may align pretty well with some of these. But each of these goals – and your business in general – is a means to the end. Your ultimate goal is to be happy, add value to the world, and make a difference. Good business owners transcend the numbers and the budgets and the products and focus on the emotional and cultural benefits.

You want to make money so you can live more comfortably. You want to provide effective services so your customers can be happy. It’s important to transcend the sometimes-cumbersome aspects of business and focus on making goals to be happy.

Success is blocked by concentrating on it and planning for it. Success is shy; it won’t come out while you’re watching. ~Tennessee Williams

Tennessee Williams was one of the top American playwrights ever. He was awarded two Pulitzer Prizes for Drama – one for A Streetcar Named Desire and the other for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. His writings were often reflections of his personal life – his family, his friends, and his experiences.

Williams had a passion for his craft and his art. His own drive to contribute and add value to culture, as well as his love for the written medium and self-improvement, provided our society with insight, entertainment, and priceless literature.

We can all learn something from this passion.

It’s one thing for success to be among your goals; it’s another for success to be the only and ultimate goal. If all you’re concentrating on or planning for is success – the prestige that will come, the freedom it will allow, the money it will bring – you’re going to have a hard time achieving that success.

Just as a watched pot never boils, if all you’re doing is sitting, waiting for success to come then you’re going to be waiting for a long time. Success doesn’t come to those whose efforts and energies are solely targeting success.

While it’s fine – and even useful – to have goals and to strive toward them, there should be a focus on your company, your product or service, and what you’re contributing to society. The ultimate goal should be to – through your business, product, or service – add value to the industry, to society, and to the world.

Being passionate about what you’re doing and continually trying to improve is what will ultimately bring success. Keep a look out for new ideas, new innovations, and new ways to contribute, not whether success is about to come your way.

When you have the desire to achieve success in a new venture in life, it is important to set goals that will guide you along the way. Goals help you move from one objective to another one step at a time, allowing you to achieve success easier. According to goal expert Beverly K. Bachel, there are many more reasons why it is important to set goals. These reasons include: 

They boost your confidence. When you set a goal and achieve it, you prove to yourself and the world that you have what it takes to get things done. Confidence can be a powerful force in your life that will allow you to accomplish things you may not have thought possible previously. 

They encourage you to trust your decisions. As you make choices concerning your goals and see those choices propel you along toward success, you will trust yourself and your abilities more and more. And just like increased confidence, increased trust in yourself can lead to achieving major accomplishments. 

They prove you can make a difference. Think of some of the most motivational stories you can about one person making a difference in the world. The people involved in each of those stories had to start with a goal in mind, and then work to accomplish that goal. They then moved on to bigger goals and accomplished those until they truly had made a difference. Whether your ultimate goal aims at affecting the world or you and your family, it has to start with a solid goal. 

So take some time to establish and record goals, then track your success in achieving those goals and see how much your life changes. One small step at a time, you’ll reach some amazing milestones.