YourMondayMotivator: Do you always have to keep your cool?

Over the weekend I read an article about keeping your cool. It was an excellent article with some great tips. One of which is making sure you think before you speak, tweet, call or do a status update. That is very good advice.

I realised I am not that great at doing most of the things the article mentions. I'm quite adept at speaking before I can stop myself and generally causing chaos when I do. However, only it seems with my family and friends. So I thought why is that?

One of the quotes in the article was; "Remain calm, serene, always in command of yourself. You will then find out how easy it is to get along." Paramahansa Yogananda.

That is all very well and sounds lovely but it doesn't take into account when we haven't eaten and our blood sugars are low. Most of us will snap. It also doesn't account for the pressures we are all under living our modern lives. I am not convinced we are meant to be always engaged with others.

I made the comment last week I really don't like people and one of my colleagues agreed. "He doesn't", he said. We laughed but then discussed how it seems we are all like that at some point.

We like people on our terms and when we are ready. Yes we are a social bunch but we need time to get away and think and we don't allow ourselves that time.

That to me is the main way to keep your cool. Thinking time.

Time spent by yourself away from the pressures from work, friends, colleauges, staff and family etc. Well meaning though they all are without knowing it they have their own agenda's.

Time spent by yourself brings you back to the fore. Your agenda becomes clear again.

Your agenda by the way is the most important part of you. It's what keeps you sane. Grab that thinking time whenever you can. Breath and remember who you are as often as possible.

Have a great week.
Glenn

P.S. Have you downloaded Charles Donoghue best selling book, Kites Fly Against the Wind at http://successcoach.co.nz/ yet?

YourMondayMotivator: Doing what you said you would

Yesterday we were driving past Ascension Vineyard and spotted a huge line up of Lamborghini's. We pulled over and I took a few photo's of the cars and the pick of the bunch for me was a 1968 400GT 2+2.

You might know that I am really into cars and that my favourite marque is Lamborghini. So seeing them was very cool.

The 400GT was the first Lamborghini with a little bit of Kiwi in each one. Bob Wallace was a Auckland hot rodder who said he would like to go to Italy one day and actually did. Doing what he said he wanted to do and changing the car world forever by doing so.

Bob crewed for an Italian racing team during the Tasman series,  became friends with them, and headed to Europe. Over there a friend of his convinced him to stay at Lamborghini and his DNA has been in them ever since. His test driving and mechanical knowledge helping shape Lamborghini engineering. In my opinion by getting over to Europe, and doing extremely well as a mechanic, Bob opened the door for other Kiwi mechanics to go.

How often do we say we are going to do something and things get in the way and we don't do them. Someone once said, "After all is said and done, a lot more will have been said than done."

I think one way to not get caught in this trap is to keep a journal and set goals. Write your wildest stuff in your journal. The craziest most far out things you want to do and keep them to yourself. Then whan you have written about them, dreamed and schemed and formed a plan. Set them as a goal and tell everyone you can. You never know you might be able to help and you too could change the world.

Have a great week.

Glenn

P.S. Have you downloaded Charles Donoghue best selling book, Kites Fly Against the Wind at http://successcoach.co.nz/ yet?

Download it for free.

YourMondayMotivator: Out of Office replies

Every week when I send my MondayMotivator a tad early I get a lot of Out of Office replies.

This got me thinking about what people are doing at 8.30 in the morning and why aren't they at work.

It happens a lot more in the holidays. It's amazing how many people aren't at work during the school holidays. Are they all rich or do they work to live and not live to work and really enjoy their kids and holidays.

One opinion is you will never be really wealthy if you are on holiday all the time and yet the opposite is sometimes true. This is because when you set yourself time limits to do things you generally get them done in the allotted time.

Take school exams. You have a few hours to complete a set of questions and you work like a demon to get through them and get the best mark you can. But in real life we tend to procrastinate and take our time. Things take ages to get done.

So what about those people who I get all the Out of Office replies from. Are they dropping their kids off at school, are they setting limits on the time they are in the office, or do they check their emails later in the day? The answers are endless.

All I know was it got me thinking about time limits and how to be successful, and get things done on time, we have to set ourselves deadlines. Set yourself some deadlines this week on a few jobs and work hard to stick to them.

I think the results will impress you. Have a great week.

Glenn

YourMondayMotivator: Moments, we all have them.

I was reading an article this morning titled, "Sometimes in a career, moments are enough". It is a collection of quotes and photos by and of Dennis Hopper.

The bit that got me thinking was his opening quote.

“There are moments that I’ve had some real brilliance, you know. But I think they are moments.  And sometimes, in a career, moments are enough. I never felt I played the great part.  I never felt that I directed the great movie. And I can’t say that it’s anybody’s fault but my own.”

–Dennis Hopper

That's a big admission by Mr Hopper and it made me think about my life up until now.

We only remember moments. Moments that were so emotional charged with excitement, fear, passion and enthusiasm I can always remember them. Even if I would rather forget. We all have those moments to.

I also know I was in charge of those moments so if I haven't had a lot of them, or too many bad ones, it is my fault.

Because our lives are made up of moments I think we do need to do something that excites us or frightens the heck out of us once or twice a month. Those charged moments are what we will remember and be the stories we will tell.

I've got some good stories already and I know you have too but don't let those be the only ones you have. Get out there and make some more.

Read the article here and have a great week.

YourMondayMotivator - Doing what you love

How do you know if you are doing what you love?

I have a list;
- you like getting up in the morning to get to work
- you tell everyone you know and meet in the check-out line about it
- people get sick of hearing about it
- even on your lowest days you still like what you do

Sound familiar? You might know someone like that.

There are two main ways to do what you love.

1. You start a business and as the business grows you delegate the parts of the job you don't like.
2. You have a job to give you the money to do the the things you really want to do.

There are variations but basically these are the two things you can do. The crunch comes though when things don't happen fast enough. What position is the best one to be in?

Having worked for myself for 18 years I believe if I had been able to stick at a job, even a part-time one, until I had built my business up more I might not have had some of the broken-ass days I had.

But, then I think were there lessons to be learned from being broke. Did it force me to be more creative, give me the drive to make cold calls, and say 'yes' more often to things I wasn't sure I could do. I did them though, at the price I quoted, and learned tons in the process.

Isn't life grand? The thoughts we have that seem to counter each other.

It does come down to this: pause, be happy with what you have, smile because you have a lot, get your butt to work, focus on the parts of the job you like, and you will have a much better day, week, life.

Because by focusing on things you like your mind will be free to be creative. And, who knows what will come from that.

Have a great week.

YourMondayMotivator - Clean out your 'stuff'

Over the past few months I have been wandering past my home office and getting quietly peeved as more stuff gets put in there. Not having time to clean it out has made it worse.

Then yesterday Lauren said lets clean that room out & it was game on.

We went through everything, put things we wanted to keep in boxes and in it's place, and chucked out a huge amount of 'stuff'.

It reminded me of a great George Carlin standup piece about stuff - watch it here. Brilliant! You will laugh, a lot.

So we cleared out all our stuff and I wondered why we hadn't done it earlier. The feeling of relief it was to have everything in its place was huge for both of us. The room was a nice place to be in again.

I do have a slight complusion to be tidy because someone once said something along the lines of untidy room, untidy mind and it has stuck with me.

The human mind does not cope well with mess. You might dispute that because you don't want to tidy your desk but I recommend you try it. I have heard all the arguments about knowing where everything is etc but it doesn't wash.

The hardest part is the actual starting to clean up and as it gets worse it become seasier to put it off. Once you get over the hurdle of starting and sort your stuff out you will be amazed at the difference it makes to you, your work and your life. It's that big.

I walked into the office this morning and thought wow. What a great way to start the day. I hope you can have that feeling too when you clean out your stuff.

Have a great week.

YourMondayMotivator - Change the rules

Watching the last two All Blacks tests has been inspirational. Forgetting the winning for a minute the flow and speed of the game is fantastic.

I was wondering what could have happened for me to enjoy rugby and I remembered the rules had been changed. Amazingly I even understood what was going on and what the penalties were for.

Our common understanding of rules is best summed up by Leo Durocher who said, "I believe in rules. Sure I do. If there weren't any rules, how could you break them?"

But, what if you changed the rules. The rules that slow you down and make things complicated.

What if?

You can.

Most of the rules that slow you down are self-imposed. They're not Law. They are not etched in stone or company policy.

They are your rules. Set by you at some stage in your life.

Change the ones that aren't working and include some that will speed up the game. Your Life should be as grand to watch as the last two All Blacks tests and I for one would enjoy watching that.

Have a great week.

YourMondayMotivator - Who am I?

very so often do you get a bit depressed and have the question running through your head, "Who am I, am I doing enough?"

I do.

It drives me nuts for about 30 minutes usually when I have had a look at something and just gone, "Why?"

I am smiling a bit as I write this because even though it drives me a little nuts it really gets me thinking.

Why am I doing what I'm doing?
Is it enough?

Why in this instant aren't I happy?
It's a nice day, I'm breathing, we are getting ahead.

Of what? What are we getting ahead of?

As you can see we all think a lot sometimes. A lot nonsense maybe because we are in control of our circumstances. Even if we are owed money, not happy at work, or in a crap relationship, we are in control.

Having periods of 'depression / questioning' are normal. It makes us think. It makes us who we are and can give us answers to put us back in control.

Because that feeling you are getting is one of being out of control. And we are very controlling. Roll with it though, talk it through, and you will be staggered at what might come out of it.

Have a great week.
Glenn

YourMondayMotivator - New tyres

In the weekend I had four new tyres fitted to my car. What a difference!

My car handles better, the steering is lighter and more precise and in the pouring rain this morning it felt planted on the road. A massive difference to the uncertain feeling I had felt before.

That uncertain feeling came from worn tyres, and incorrect tyre pressures, that instilled zero confidence in me when driving in the wet. They weren't suitable to the conditions.

I got to work this morning and felt confident and ready to start the day. No slipping and sliding had put a dent in my day. Lterally.

What could you do right now that would make you handle better and feel more confident?

A new pair of glasses you have been putting off getting, you're butt into the gym or out onto the street for a walk, 10 press-ups on the floor, or a new pair of shoes.

None of those things have to cost a lot of money but the confidence you will feel is priceless. The energy fantastic!

Go and do something today that puts a smile on your face, a spring in your step and bucketloads of confidence in your heart.

Have a great week.

Today's minimotivator #87-2010: Tea

Bernard-Paul Heroux said, "There is no trouble so great or grave that cannot be much diminished by a nice cup of tea."

I love a good cup of tea and the above is correct. Any bad thing is always made just a little better with a hot cup of tea.

Glenn