Persistence vs Consistence

Persistence will create a breakthrough.  

Consistence will create the path through.

You are mindful that it is the beginning of the year.  Most of the advertising on television, radio, and the internet are bombarding you with "new beginnings", weight loss programs, gym memberships, etc...

The challenge is that you may buy into the hype, but you don't persist long enough to see any tangible results.  So, you quit.  Then you will justify your quitting with valid sounding reasons like: 

• Life just got in the way
• I wasn't ready yet, but I'll do it later this year
• That's really just not "my thing"
• Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah

You will never get a breakthrough without persistence AND you will never truly be persistent until you know WHY you are wanting to achieve that goal.  But for now, I will assume you know your "WHY".

If you really want your goal, then persist.  Don't give up.  Don't quit.  Get up, do it again..... fail. Evaluate your failure, adjust, and try it again.  Revisit your "Why" and keep on moving in the direction of your goal.  Take small steps and don't beat yourself up.  Embrace the failure as a part of the process and progress toward your goal.  This is done through reflection and evaluation of your results.  So, get up again, start again, do one more rep, make one better choice..... what ever it is....PERSIST.

Persistence will create a breakthrough.

You can then reflect on and evaluate your actions that resulted in your breakthrough.  Duplicate those efforts.  Consistently recreate the mindset and actions that got you the breakthrough and pretty soon your breakthrough will turn into a path through.  You are cutting a trail to your goal.  Consistency develops habits and habits lead to lifestyle.

You've got this!!  If you need help along the way, let me know.  That's what I do.

YOU Matter!!

What Is Your Ambition?

Ambition is the path to success. Persistence is the vehicle you arrive in.  ~Bill Bradley.

Success isn't the destination, but it is your forward progress on the journey.

In other words..... you have to know where you want to go (ambition). But, then you get your map, plan your route, and head out to your destination.

BUT.... there likely will be obstacles, roadblocks, detours.... so, persistence and determination will find a way around and will keep you moving toward your final destination.

That's why Earl Nightingale says that "success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal."

Are you committed to your success in 2015?
What will you do different this year IN you to get different results outside of you?
Are you committed to helping others succeed?
Are you going to persist through obstacles and setbacks?
Do you need help? That's what I do.

YOU Matter!!

Be All In

December 31, 2014
As you wrap up 2014 and begin 2015, what introspective questions are you asking yourself?

My mentor, John C. Maxwell says, "Experience is NOT the best teacher.... EVALUATED experience is the best teacher."

You've experienced a lot in 2014. So what? What are you going to do with that experience? What did you learn from it? What will you do different in 2015? What do you want to be different in 2015 than 2014? Who did you add the most value to in 2014? What made you feel most alive in 2014?What relationships added the most value to you? Who or what slowed you down or is a source of discouragement? (Time to prune)

Before I began 2014, I decided to make my theme of the year "BE". Everything about the year was from the approach of who do I need to become in order to do and have the things that I want? Am I becoming who I was always meant to be? Which led me to ask God, "Who did you mean for me to be?"

"Becoming" in 2014 has done more for my personal growth and achievement than any year previous.

Becoming requires growth. Growth requires work. Work requires a plan. A plan requires a destination (or at least a rest area). A destination requires a reason.

Why (your reason/desire/ambition) will get you out of bed with excitement.
Working your plan daily will allow you to rest peacefully each evening knowing you gave it your all that day.

For 2015, my theme is something I heard Timothy Novak tell my students this fall, "Be All In." I would encourage YOU to BE ALL IN with whatever you choose to do or become in 2015.

If you have trouble with answering any of the questions in this post and need some help or clarity. Give me a shout - that's what I do.

YOU Matter!!

No Struggles - No Life

Have you ever looked at someone and thought, "They have it so easy!" or "I wish I could live like them."  Or, in my case, I see great authors or great speakers, and think, "Wow, why can't I be that good?"

The reality?  You and I are seeing the fruits of the struggle that these people are likely to have experienced.  Many times my mentor, John C Maxwell, has said that people say they wish they could have his lifestyle or his speaking abilities and he responds, "You can - you just have to pay the same price that I paid.  The work, the preparations..... the struggles."

You may love to watch birds or listen to their songs, but have you thought about their struggle for life?  Birds must struggle to break the egg to enter the world.  If the egg was broken for them and there was no struggle, the bird would die.  It is the struggle that brings the bird (and you and I) to life.  It is the struggle that shows us our limits or unlocks a desire that we never knew we had.

In the midst of your struggles, stay aware and ask yourself these questions:

• Where did this struggle come from?
• What can I learn about this struggle?
• What am I learning about me?
• What responsibilities, actions, or relationships in my life need to change?
• What one or two steps can I take immediately begin to move forward through this struggle?

You don't have to like the struggles.... and if you do, there might be something wrong with you. :-)  But embrace the struggles and know that there is something inside of you seeking to be birthed that needs this current struggle.

YOU Matter!!

Success Ahead

If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with success unexpected in common hours. ~Henry David Thoreau.

• "If one" = YOU
• "advances confidently" = small steps forward, action breeds confidence and overcomes fear
• "in the direction of his dreams” = what/where/who/when is your dream?
• “and endeavors” = committed.  Are you ALL IN?
• “to live” = life is the journey, not the moment.  Savor it.
• “the life which he(she) has imagined” = Your dream defined in present tense – start living it today
• “he(she) will meet with success” – Earl Nightingale says, Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal.
• “unexpected in common hours.” – You may not know the exact time, but when you change your thinking and your habits, the world around you changes to the point that you finally realize you are already living the life you imagined. 

When we change the way we look at things, the things we look at change. ~Wayne Dyer

YOU Matter!!

Lead by Fear or Love?

As a leader, you can choose to lead others by fear or by love.

Fear will motivate and manipulate for short periods, but it will also plant seeds of cynicism and resentment.

Love will also motivate, but it will perpetuate into lasting change, loyalty, and exceptional results.

You have the ultimate power and that is CHOICE.

Choose Love.

YOU Matter!!

The following post was originally published on July 14, 2014 at www.drivingresultsthroughculture.com.  It was written by my friend Chris Edmonds, whose new book, The Culture Engine, has just been released.  I'm reading it - it is GREAT.  I am sharing his blog post here with his permission, so you can get a glimpse of why I consider Chris one of my long distance mentors.

Demand Nice

A recent news story about a local diner caught my eye. The owners and staff are creating a comfortable customer experience that diners love.

The food is terrific, the staff is modeling great service, and the environment is safe and inspiring. Staff love it and customers love it. Business is booming.

Safe and inspiring work environments – for employees and customers – is unfortunately not normal. It’s all too rare, even if leaders want that kind of environment.

How do you craft a safe and inspiring environment? By demanding that people be nice in every interaction.

The diner owner has a big sign posted near the front door stating, “Be Nice or Leave.” The owner said, “If staff members can’t be nice, they can’t work here. If customers can’t be nice, they can’t eat here. Life is too short to put up with mean people.”

The “Be Nice or Leave” concept has been popularized by the talented Dr. Bob, creator of gorgeous New Orleans folk art.

How nice are leaders and team members in your organization to each other? How nice are leaders and team members to your organization’s internal and external customers?

Setting clear values expectations – with behavioral definitions – is a great start to a nicer, more civil work environment. But setting expectations alone won’t align behavior. Holding people accountable for those behaviors is how one ensures a nicer workplace.

One culture client implemented values and behaviors in their stores. Store leaders received training in the new approach before the valued behaviors were put into place. Store leaders and employees “signed up” – literally, they signed a form – to model the new values and behaviors in every interaction.

These behavioral expectations allowed team leaders and members to raise questions with borderline behaviors, promptly and confidently.

One store employee was known to have a bad temper. She could “fly off the handle” – storming into the stock room, cursing like a longshoreman – at the slightest provocation, by peer or customer.

Soon after the values and behaviors were announced, she popped a cork at work. She barely contained herself in the store’s public areas – but as soon as she got into the stock area, the curse words flew, loud and long.

Her employee peers heard it (they couldn’t miss it). Customers on the floor heard it too (again, it was impossible to miss).

The store manager and her team leader approached her promptly. Behind closed doors, they explained that the employee had broken one of their new team citizenship valued behaviors: “No cursing, no tantrums.” They coached her to ensure she understood that her behavior could not continue if she wanted to remain a company employee. She understood, and calmly went back to her station.

I wish I could say that this conversation stopped her bad behavior forever. It didn’t. She popped her cork later the same week, and was suspended for that infraction. She chose to leave the company rather than return to work.

If your workplace tolerates bad behavior of any kind, refine, refine, refine so it is consistently nice. You’ll enjoy better employee engagement, customer experiences, and performance – and profits.

  

Chris Edmonds is the founder and CEO of the Purposeful Culture Group, which he launched after a 15-year career leading and managing teams. Since 1995, he has also served as a senior consultant with the Ken Blanchard Companies. Chris has delivered over 100 keynote speeches to audiences as large as 5,000, and guided his clients to consistently boost customer satisfaction and employee engagement by 40+% and profits by 30+%. He is the author or co-author of six books, including “Leading At A Higher Level” with Ken Blanchard. His next book, "The Culture Engine: A Framework for Driving Results, Inspiring Your Employees, and Transforming Your Workplace"  will be published by John Wiley & Sons in September 2014.