“I work 14 hours a day”, he exclaimed with his chest pumped up. The people around gasped, “Wow, he is such a dedicated guy. I am sure he is an achiever.”
The world believes in the following equation:
long working hours = more work done
Many of the organizations even reward the employees who work beyond their working hours.
When a person works over 12 hours often, some real questions need answers.
A huge mistake many salespeople make (I’ve caught myself doing this many times), is attempting to persuade our prospect to buy what “we” like without considering what “they” like. Have you ever done that? After all, because ‘I’ think this style looks best, obviously the prospect must, too.” Or, “‘I’ like this financial growth plan better than any of the others.” Maybe even, “Take a look at this widget; it’s got 107 ways that you can blah blah blah, blah blah blah. Isn’t it magnificent!?”
Good is only half a block from average. Excellence lives on the other side of town from good. Outstanding resides in a zip code all by itself!
This Be Outstanding! lesson is devoted to reinvesting in you. Its purpose is to help you to raise the bar, and reach for higher levels of performance from yourself and others than you ever thought possible.
How does one create and sustain outstanding performance?
First and foremost, you must live and die by the spirit of this rule:
“If you are not committed to delivering results that are profound, dramatic and superior – NEVER COMPETE!”
An atmosphere of urgency will create an atmosphere of achievement.
Have you noticed that the people who make things happen in this world value and share the same sense of urgency?
High Achievers work best under a self-determined or externally fixed deadline for achieving objectives. Those who consciously choose not to “sleep at the wheel” realize that regardless of the goal being pursued, they must continually maintain a sense of urgency in order to compete and win.
Leadership begins with loneliness. What is leadership, what does a leader do? A leader is simply one who goes ahead, one who sets the pace, paves the way.
I think it needs to be said too, that any company, church, community or agency must have at least one courageous person who is willing, I said willing, not able. There are many who are not willing, and others who could do the job better, if they would.
Many never arrive simply because they really never get started. Once you decide to set the pace and move ahead, you discover why many refuse to pay the price of leadership.
From time to time someone gives another individual the ultimate compliment by saying, “You are a ‘class act,'” or by describing a specific behavior by saying, “That’s class.” From time to time a master of ceremonies will introduce an individual by saying, “If you go to the dictionary and look up the word ‘class,’ you will see a picture of your speaker this evening.”
A person with class is an individual of integrity, someone you would love to have as a parent or child, a friend or a neighbor, a mentor or an advisor. In short, class identifies a person who is “top drawer,” one who goes the extra mile by being gracious to everyone who courteously serves them.
It was not too long ago that all we knew of successful business persons was that they worked hard, were very bright and efficient. Hardly did anyone use the words “intuition” and “business” in the same conversation. Gut feelings and marketing seemed to be worlds apart with the divine injunction that “never the twain shall meet.” Yet, most recent studies are showing that perhaps we’ve been missing something.
Like it or not, most people consider me a motivational speaker. That has an upside and a downside! Some people really appreciate motivational speakers while others think they are all fluff and no meat (Some are I guess).
So I have been thinking lately about what it is that a good motivational speaker should do, what they should communicate and how they should move people.
Below are the six basic messages of a good motivational speaker (Hint: If you are in a position of motivating anyone, kids, employees or the like, these will be good for you to reflect upon too!)
I receive many emails from people that basically ask the same question: How can I keep myself motivated long term? This seems to be quite a common dilemma for many people so I want to address it because it can be done! Here are my tips for staying motivated:
1. Get Motivated Every Day.
Zig Ziglar was once confronted about being a “motivational speaker.” The guy said to him, “You guys come and get people hyped up and then you leave and the motivation goes away. It doesn’t last, and then you have to get motivated again.”
Happiness. The pursuit of so many. In fact, we are known in America as those who live for “Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” But so many seem without happiness. Why is this? Is happiness truly elusive or do we simply not know how to take hold of it? It is my contention that happiness is yours for the taking. That is, anyone can be happy if the choose to be… and if they know how to get it.