September 18th, 2012
No matter what your business, incentives are crucial to your business. The driver that keeps us working each day meeting deadlines and striving to do more. There is literally not one single thing we eat, we wear, drive or experience on a daily basis that is not incentive driven. It takes motivation and the answer to “what’s in it for me” to get the process started and completed. People need to know that there is a reason and purpose to it all. Why else would we exchange hour after hour of our precious life away from our family to work if it were not for a reason that would benefit ourselves and our families?
The other day I met with a man who worked in the blood bank industry who really educated me on the blood donor business. He shared that the demands of his job to increase donors was challenging because he often had to increase donations for certain blood types in during summer months when everyone was thinking about little more than the beach. I mean who really thinks about rolling up their sleeves for a needle in June? Most of us don’t think about the need for blood except during major blood drive campaigns or natural disasters.
Well what does blood have to do with me? Ask yourself, “what would draw me to donate blood”? Is it a humanitarian response, are you motivated by the attention that you might receive when you wear your free “I gave blood today” t-shirt? Maybe you received a gift card or got entered into a drawing. You see, from the very start you were motivated by an incentive. Yes, you get it now, an incentives is a powerful tool that gets people moving!
If you perceive, you can achieve. What was considered a challenge is now a visible achievement. No matter the budget, there is an incentive out there for you. Start with someone who will act of your behalf as your Expert Advisor/broker. A good advisor will conduct a Needs Analysis learning about your business, your employees, your budget and most importantly, your goals. Advisers usually attend industry conventions learning about new incentives, new ways to apply incentives, track effectiveness and know what is attractive to employees and donors.
The latest trends is telemedicine. Telemedicine connects association members or employees 24 hours, 7 days a week via telephone and email with U.S. based licensed physicians and board-certified specialists who have independently contracted to be participating providers in this physician network. It is a convenient and affordable alternative that increases access to physician are, while lowering healthcare costs. TAccording to the Wellness Council of America, as many as 70% of doctor office and emergency room visits are non-life threatening visits. Costs and time off from work can be greatly reduced for more customary situations simply by communicating with a nurse or doctor. Rural residents who live far from doctors can be provided with care. Medical services that are offered during a consultation can range from general advice to a diagnosis recommending immediate treatment by the doctor and prescribed medication when appropriate.
When your faced with a goal, consider that benefits of using an incentive. An Incentive Broker can save you time and money.
Tags: benefits, benefits and incentives, blood donation incentives, blood donor incentives, employee, incentive programs, incentives, motivation
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June 21st, 2012
Ah, summer is in the air. The air is warmer and the palm trees are looking their very best in California and it is time to think VACATION! If you were in Kansas, you might wonder Why someone would think that they could not have a glorious vacation in there own California backyard. Heck if you stretch your imagination, Laguna Beach can almost pass for the South of France and it is right there, less than one hour from Disneyland!
We all the know the saying that ”The grass always greener on the other side.” Never mind that California has miles of wonderful beaches, deserts and mountains galor. It seems like we always want what we can’t have or at least something different, it is our incentive for all our hard work. How can you keep your employees, members or donors for looking for what appears to be greener pastures? You start with an honest assessment about why you do what you do? Why are you part of your organization? Do you need to change your view point? Then take a stroll through your competitors business and/or website. Does it make you want to become a member? If the answer is a loud “NO”, congratulations! You now have information emphasizing the differences between your services and theirs.
Help make it easy for your members to find joy and satisfaction in your membership. Look for positive qualities that your organizations offers on a human level. Is each touch point something that provides a sense of community? Do network connections go beyond a handshake and have possibilities of truly becoming viable relationships that nurtures and builds each others business? When we feel good about an experience that alone will leave us satisfied with our decision to join a membership organization. We feel we are in the right place and we want to share our positive experience with others. Forget the usual Chamber of Commerce old, stale techniques. Create a membership based on feeling good, getting energized and one that provides purpose.
Here are some more ways to keep your grass as green as the grass in Ireland:
1) Take your old ideas and put them aside. Change, change, change. Keep it interesting and keep them coming back. Survey your members, research trends on the Internet and empower your members to participate in the evolution of your membership.
2) Cross pollinate with non-competitng organization. There is always a complimentary organization out there to network with providing your members a terrific networking event.
3) Fill your calendar with days to give back to charities, youth and other novice enetrepreneurs out there. Nothing feels better than when you help others. Nothing makes members more proud and gets them talking to others about their membership organization than feel good, give back moments.
4) Turn up the music and key in the fun. Everyone works hard but what keeps them together and inspired is motivational high spirited time together. Regardless what your member’s business is, members of all kinds are there for one reason and that is to build relationships.
5) Celebrate relationships by celebrating friendship anniversaries that began at you membership organization.
6) Announce business deals that were possible because of membership relationships.
7) Research, listen and visit the kid inside of you frequently and often.
8) Blog, blog and more blogs with helpful hints, success stories and motivation.
Change it up and keep them capativated. You don’t want to eat the same darn thing for dinner every day do you? Learn from our friends the retailers. They know what keeps them coming back with new and colorful changing windows is what works. Keep positive believe and share the spirit of a pioneering entrepreneur.
Tags: membership organization, memberships, motivate, motivation, motivational programs
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October 2nd, 2011
Of the ten basic motives that inspire all human action, love is probably the most powerful. More has been accomplished by people motivated by love for mothers, fathers, wives, husbands and children than any of the other motives.
It is very common to see athletes, musicians, and business people purchase beautiful houses for their parents when they make it big. I recently read about Gene Simmons, the famous bass player and singer for the band KISS, and his devotion and love for his mother, a Nazi concentration camp survivor who brought up her kids as a single mother. Famous, and not so famous, people recognize the love their parents gave them and the sacrifices they made to get them to where they are and want to ensure their parents never want for anything again.
Love for their wives has often been cited as the reason for the success of many men. Napoleon Hill wrote numerous times about the impact that the wives of the people he researched had on their success. Henry Ford and Thomas Edison had tremendously supportive wives and this propelled them to tremendous success, despite the many difficulties each of these men faced. John Wooden, the famous basketball coach, is well known for his love of his wife Nellie. Anybody studying John Wooden’s success will soon learn the importance of his wife Nellie to that success. I think of the story that Zig Ziglar tells of his friend Bernie Lofchick. Bernie became a wealthy, successful, business person because his son David was born with Cerebral Palsy. Bernie and his wife did everything they possibly could to make sure their son David had as normal a life as he could. Part of doing everything possible was earning an above average income to pay for the extensive therapy his son would need throughout his life.
The motive of love can also help people endure tough situations for long periods of time. I think about single mothers who often work tirelessly and still manage to impact their children positively to become contributing citizens of the world. I think of parents who endure jobs they do not like so that their kids will have the best life they can possibly give them. I think of people who experience physical disabilities and challenges in their lives and their spouses make adjustments to their lifestyle and dreams to lovingly care for them.
Think of the person you love the most in this world and who you would do the most for. If you were to find out that person would die in one year and suffer in the process, unless you earned say, $20,000 more in the next 12 months than you did in the previous 12 months, would you earn the additional $20,000? Would you sleep less? Would you watch television less? Would you waste less time? I believe that, if your love is strong enough, anyone could do it.
Think of the people in your life that you love the most. Think of the needs they have. Think about how you could help them with those needs, big and small. Bringing happiness, joy, and comfort to loved ones can motivate you more than anything else in life to do what you need to do.
Tags: motivate, motivate donors, motivation, motivational programs, motive
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September 14th, 2011
Some time ago, someone wrote me an email and said, “I would love to know what motivates YOU!” So I took them up on it and I want to spend some time telling you how I stay motivated.
It is a valid question, this one of what motivates me. After all, each and every day I have to stay on the top of my game, whether because I am giving a speech, marketing my materials, writing to one of the subscribers I have in over 100 countries, or just trying to keep my kids energized!
As I thought about it, I realized again just how simple life can be if you put the right processes in place. I realized that staying motivated revolves around a few basic things that I do. And they are things that ANYBODY can do. So if I can stay motivated, you can too! If you want to stay motivated, try these basics that I use to keep myself motivated:
Read good books and magazines. I am an information junkie! I read all of the time. I don’t care what you say; you cannot be successful without reading! I read books, magazines, etc., all of the time. I read a breadth of information so as to develop myself on a wide variety of topics. Keep reading them on a regular basis throughout the month and not just in reading binges. Listen to good information. Get yourself into some good tapes. Listen to what others have to say. Give yourself a budget to spend on materials that will make you into a motivated animal! Above all, as you listen, apply the truths to your life in your head and they will become what you live! Maintain a positive group of friends and colleagues. I broke this rule yesterday and went to coffee with a real downer. I am still recovering from him! One of the best things you can do is to surround yourself with positive people who will build you up and encourage you to pursue your dreams. They will be honest with you, yes, but they will also challenge you to shoot for the stars!
Focus clearly on my goals. I know where I am going and what I want to accomplish. They are firmly rooted in my mind and heart. Because of this, my mind and heart are in an attitude of motivation all of the time. I want to hit my goals, and since they are present in my heart and mind, I put my energies into them.
Discipline myself to live out my priorities. Most of the time, this takes plain old hard work. We have to discipline ourselves, and as we do, we find ourselves becoming more and more motivated. If we discipline ourselves, it gives us wins and victories, which make us feel good, which motivate us for further action. If we don’t discipline ourselves, we feel defeated and we fall into a downward spiral of despair.
Are you keeping yourself motivated? You can. I know you can because I have seen these principles and actions work in my own life. Take a moment right now and see if you are living out the principles for keeping motivated:
Do you regularly read good books and magazines?
Do you regularly listen to good material?
Do you surround yourself with positive and supportive people?
Do you know and focus on your goals?
Do you discipline yourself to action even when you don’t feel like it?
Commit yourself to these and you will find that you have become a much more motivated person. This is what I do, and why I can continue to motivate others!
Upward and onward my friends!
Tags: motivate, motivate customers, motivation, motivational programs, point rewards
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June 6th, 2011
Today started like all other days. I watched all the people I love in my house rush off to work and school, it seems like every day is a fire drill around here for these people. I can actually hear a seemingly endless hum of blow dryers and footsteps scammering back and forth while I lay half asleep in my comfy bed downstairs. I wish they would give it a break so I could get some extra zzz’s! Why do they leave there warm comfy beds every day when it feel so good anyway? There just must be some kind of benefit in return for it all. Oh well, in a flash they all go out the same door we use to get in the car to drive to the park.
I have been living with these people for just about 10 years now. I have taken the time to observe and learn from them. They can be quite interesting. A dog has gotta be aware you know and you really can teach an old dog a new trick or two. I have learned that my dad treats me a bit different than the two girls do that live here. My dad is cool but boy when he is mad,watch out. He gives me commands and expects a lot out of me. Sometimes I just say to myself ”Look buddy, if there is no treat involved, it ain’t gonna happen.” Just before he gets ready to burst because I have not rolled over yet, I break out my cute girl powdy eyes and then he walks over to the pantry to get me a treat. Yeah, the powdy eye thing is a great things that I learned from the girls. It works most of the time with my dad and just about every single time with the girls, ya gotta love them. The girls think I am just the cutest thing on four wheels.
My relationships are really simple in this house. I behave, try not to mess up the carpet and I don’t get too crazy when the cats walk into the yard. If I provide love, love is returned to me from that pantry. Life as a dog is really pretty great, no matter what those Calico Cats tell you.
The other day my mom was talking about her boss at work. She told my dad that her boss was an Absentee Boss who all of a suddent barked out orders for her to increase her team’s sales figures. As both she and the vegetables steamed, she continued to tell us her story. This boss I guess never provided she or her team with goals except when it looked like he was not going to be able to keep his job. He did not seem to care about her team and never gave them any treats as incentives when they achieved high numbers. What a jerk, if he were here it would be my teeth in his calf! Anyway, her team felt that his appearance alone in the department meant bad news because he never walked through to say good morning or spread some good stuff around to anyone.
When the steam stopped coming out of my mom’s head and from the over cooked veggies, she said some pretty interesting things. She said she could manage the situation her way and train her boss like she trains me, what a smart cookie. She would first start with a quick observation about what motivated her team. Were they talking about the changes in their employee benefits or perhaps the incentive program some of the other teams started using to motivate their teams?
The economy has been tough on my family and many others. Sure we eat but the Pooch Spa never comes over any more to leave me that nice sparkle like they used to. I really miss that guy, he had a way with a dog brush that made me look 5 years younger but I have adjusted. My mom brushes my hair now and she also has started to praise me and her department more. I think she knows that we will hang in there and do good if, we know we are appreciated. She told all of us a few nights ago that she does not skip a day when she does not appreciate us. She has promised to thank someone at the end of each day for their efforts and good roll over. She also sends surprise emails to employees when she sees them doing a great job with coupon so they can go see a movie. My mom is pretty smart. She knows that it is the sincerity of presence with people and dogs that make a difference. The eye to eye contact and thank you along with a treat for the extra effort.
The true benefit from life is being able to inspire and make a difference, I love my family.
D. Fred
Tags: benefits, benefits and incentives, incentive, incentive programs, motivate, motivation, reward
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May 31st, 2011
When I was a little girl with pig tails and freckles my dad would tell me he was proud of me when I accomplished something or I helped him in the yard. There was nothing more important to me than making my dad proud and seeing his smile on his face. I immediately felt like I could do anything when my daddy complimented me. I could work with great passion in the yard or help him paint my bedroom for hours just on the encouragement that he provided me. The benefit to me was truly just the reward of his pride.
Your employees succeed more often on stretch assignments when they are encouraged and provided with an incentive. While these types of assignments provide great opportunity for growth and notoriety they can be perceived as risky. It is uncomfortable to step out beyond the normal day-to-day responsibilities of our position. Your employees must plan, step up their courage and carefully jump into the challenge. Employees should seek out Expert Advisors, corporate resources and research the risks. They should be made to feel supported by you and that the assignment is well worth their efforts.
Don’t forget that stretch assignments are not only for your shinning star employees, they are for those on the fringes of greatness. Not everyone is meant to be a leader however you may just have your next Vice President amongst your team. Most high potential employees are eager to learn, are savvy, have a strong work ethic, are decisiveness, accountable, passionate and possess a pioneering spirit. These employees appreciate some level of uncertainty, excitement, view differences in people as an asset and foster relationships within all levels in your organization to accomplish the task at hand.
Some of the phrases that may help you motivate and encourage employees as they work to succeed on their stretch assignment are:
“I’m impressed with your actions on …”
“You got everyone’s attention with…”
“One of the things I admired most about you is…”
“You can be proud of yourself for…”
“You really made a difference by…”
To keep your employee on track acknowledge them in person as soon as you become aware of progress and development. Award them with gift incentives or public recognition for a job well done. Ask your employee to share their experiences and strategies along the way with other employees to stimulate your team later finding others for future stretch assignments. While outlining the expectation of the employee’s strech assignment be sure to underline the positive benefits when they need to be motivated.
Working together with an Incentives Broker they can help you design a program right for your team. You set the goals, they will help you create the motivation that builds interests helping your team reach stretch across the finish line. From seamless point reward programs to benefits and incentives, your employee’s “What’s in it for me” questions will be answered with attractive incentives to keep them moving forward. Their incentives, your benefit.
“What an effective way to…”
Tags: awards, benefits, employee rewards, gift incentives, motivation
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May 10th, 2011
Sales is an emotional roller coaster, and unless you figure out how to manage those emotions and keep yourself motivated, you’ll have a difficult time succeeding. This is particularly true during a downturn. The economy struggles and unemployment rises. Many companies cut back, there are fewer jobs available, and pressures to perform are greater than ever. It’s easy to lose our motivation.
However, even though the world around us may be dreary and depressing, that in no way reduces our personal need to do the best we can. That means we all have a responsibility to stay motivated.
It is amazing what a difference a few degrees of attitude adjustment can make in our performance. Try this little exercise. Tell yourself these things: “Business is terrible. All of my customers are struggling. Nobody wants to see me, and when they do, it’s just to complain.” Wallow in those thoughts for a moment, and note how much energy and enthusiasm you have.
Now, think the opposite: “I have great opportunities. My customers need me more today than ever. I have valuable solutions for them. It’s a great time to have this job.” Roll those around in your mind for a while. Note how much energy and enthusiasm you have.
As you reflect on this exercise, it’s clear that your energy, enthusiasm and drive to succeed come as a result of your thoughts. Here is one of the most powerful truths known to mankind: You can control your thoughts.
Going Beyond “Positive Thinking”
Succeeding in difficult times depends a great deal on our motivation. Staying motivated requires us to take charge of our thoughts.
I’ve heard dozens of salespeople say, “I’ve tried positive thinking. It just isn’t me.” I agree that it is difficult to patch a bunch of positive thoughts on top of an essentially negative personality. The issue is deeper than that. Let’s, therefore, examine the deeper issues.
At the heart of motivation lies a pair of powerful beliefs that you must embrace if you are going to successfully motivate yourself. Without a wholehearted commitment to these foundational beliefs, all the techniques and tactics for self-motivation are like spreading wallpaper over crumbling plaster. It may hold temporarily, but it is soon going to deteriorate into a mess.
Here’s the first foundational principle: You must believe that you can do better than you are now doing. The second is this: You must accept that it is your responsibility to do so.
It’s simple and commonsense, but, the more I observe people and salespeople specifically, the more convinced I am that the majority of people do not share these core beliefs. Rather, they are in the habit of making excuses for their situation. They believe fate, not their actions, determines their success. They believe success is for someone else, not them. They never really grab unto the first of these foundational principles.
Others believe that they can achieve greater degrees of success. They embrace the first principle, intellectually, but they never internalize the second. They become content with their situation and remain in pre-established comfort zones. They look at their manager as the person who is responsible for their success, or lack thereof. Maybe it’s their parent’s fault, or their spouse’s, or… the list goes on.
Whether you are struggling with a lack of energy that accompanies a bad day, or you’re depressed and frustrated with your lack of progress on a larger scale, examine your core beliefs first. If you really accept these two principles, you have the keystone in place to become highly motivated.
Having said that, here are a couple proven techniques you can use to keep yourself motivated day-to-day.
Have a Compelling Purpose
Have something you are working to accomplish. This can be an important and compelling goal like saving enough money for a down payment on a house. When you are working toward something like that, your emotions of the moment tend to be a lower priority than your drive to achieve. If you are trying to make money for a home for your family, so what if you’re tired or depressed? You get out and do it.
The same is true for having a compelling purpose. I believe that every salesperson should be able to articulate clearly his or her purpose in life. I once began a ten-week sales training program with a requirement that everyone write a two-sentence “life purpose.” Why? Because it gives power and focus to everything you do. In your job as a salesperson, there will be many difficult times when things don’t go your way. You may lose a big deal, or be unable to get anyone to return your calls. At times like these, it helps to view them within the context of a larger perspective: your life purpose.
Choose Your Thoughts
Proactively put positive thoughts into your mind. Make a point of taking charge of your mind and the kind of thoughts you choose to think. Wise and thoughtful people for ages have discovered an extremely powerful principle: Your actions arise from your thoughts, and you can choose your thoughts.
Controlling and managing your thoughts is one of the basic tenants of Zen Buddhism, for example. In the Christian context, the apostle Paul said, “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Philosophers, educators, and thinkers of every generation conclude the same thing.
But the power of this truth is not reserved just for philosophers. Salespeople can use it as well. The reason you may feel depressed or anxious is because you are thinking depressing or anxious thoughts. Change your thoughts, and you can change your feelings. Change your emotions, and you can change your behavior. Change your behavior and you can change your results. It’s not as difficult as it may sound.
Take Action
Do this: invest in a couple of audio programs filled with good, positive stuff, or find something at the local library. As you drive between appointments and on your way home from work, listen to those tapes or CDs. You’ll find yourself thinking positive thoughts. Those positive thoughts will lead to a more positive attitude. That attitude will manifest in more focused actions. Those actions will lead to better results.
There is no limit to the amount of positive, educational material available to you. If you are not regularly exposing yourself to some of this, it is because you are choosing to not be motivated.
Succeeding in difficult times requires you to take charge of your motivation. Now is the time to take this most important step to becoming a true professional.
Tags: motivate, motivate customers, motivation, motivational, motivational programs
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May 4th, 2011
The key to retention and growth is perceived value. Value superceeds price as long as the buyer has trust in the product or service. We have all heard of the Nordstrom philiosophy of quality, service and the customer always being number one. If we seek to gain we need to recognize the efforts of our front line people and sales. They are working longer and harder to make it happen these days. It is true that they are motivated by their salaries but what really makes them take notice is when their efforts are appreciated.
When we need to sell our home we hire a realitor who looks at our home with a fresh perspective offering suggestions on new paint, flowers and decorative splashes of color to add throughout to help us sell our home. It is absolutely the same for organizations looking to motivate employees and buyers. An Incentive Broker can help you analyze your company and offer suggestions on the latest employee incentives on the market. They partner with others, attend industry seminars and no what works for different organization.
Employees at all levels want to know “What is in it for me” when I have to work long hours, travel or make more sales presentations. Create enthusiasm with a benefits and lifestyle discounts that enhance their core benefits. Not only will employees take notice so will their families who are often wondering what is in it for them too.
Benefit and lifestyle discounts provide a selection of their choice of motivation choosing from over 70 Total Benefits & Incentives to Choose From to Create Your Own Customized Discounts. Benefit providers are Aetna Dental, Lab & Imaging, Vision, Fitness, Tele-Doc, Medical Equipment and More. Lifestyle discounts offer 20,000 Restaurants Nationwide, 2,000 Golf Courses, Hotels, Legal services and Theme Parks, plus with Additional Services and Fun.
The best choice is one that is yours.
Tags: customer incentives, employee incentive programs, employee rewards, incentive, incentive programs, motivate, motivation
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April 19th, 2011
Earlier this evening I was inspired by this thought as I
listened to a minister speak at the annual Red Cross
dinner my wife and I attended. As usual I made a few quick notes to keep the thought alive and help me to remember exactly what I wanted to share with you.
I tucked it away in my suit jacket with plans to write this “tomorrow sometime.”
I was driven out of bed. It’s 12:23 a.m.
Picture in your mind the most incredible thing designed
by mankind that you have ever seen. Perhaps the Empire
State Building, the Shuttle built by the technicians at NASA,
The Golden Gate Bridge or even the intricate detailing in a
painting you’ve seen.
What name comes to mind when I say the words “creative genius?”
Who do you think of when I mention God-like compassion,
caring and loving?
What author’s name do you think of when I mention “poetry,”
”drama,” “mystery,” “fiction,” and “comedy?”
What do you see when I say “strength,” and “stamina?”
Finally “winner,” “successful,” or “role model?”
I’ll bet you a Kids Meal at McDonald’s you never saw yourself
in any of those images. And yet…
Look at your hands.
Are they not the same as the hands of the skillful
artist, architect, mason, or technician?
If you were to x-ray your skull, would you not find the same
brain matter that takes up the space between the ears of
Einstein, Plato, and Disney?
Hold your hand to your chest. Can you feel the beat of a
heart capable of paining for the homeless and starving?
Have you not the same heart that beat in the chest of Jesus,
Gandhi, Mohamed or the thousands of missionaries around
the world?
Look at your fingers. Are they not like the fingers of Frost, Churchill, Stevens, Wilder and King that held tightly the pens
that wrote the words that shaped the world?
Look at your feet. Show me the difference between yours and
gold medalists of the Olympics or the rescuers who carried the
people out of the rubble in Taiwan’s tragic earthquake.
Finally. Close your eyes as you stand in front of a mirror and
picture in your mind that man or woman who you think of as a
success, a winner and role model. Open your eyes and explain
to me the difference between you and that person.
There is no difference…except in how you perceive yourself.
You have the mind, the hands, the feet, the fingers, the heart to be exactly what you want to be. The only thing that is stopping you is the person you see in the mirror.
You have all that it takes.
It’s 1:18 A.M. I can sleep now. The rest is up to you.
Are you moving forward or standing still?
Do you have a career that you love?
Are you pleased with your relationship with your spouse, your kids?
Do you have a healthy lifestyle?
| The root word for “motivation” is “move,” and movement is change. Truthful answers to the above and other questions will tell you whether you want, or need to change.
Although answering such questions truthfully is critical to begin the change process, we all know the tough part comes later. The key to successful change is discipline and “reprogramming beliefs.” A cautionary inner voice will tell you not to rock the boat, to stay on the path of least resistance, but your heart is telling you otherwise.
Listen to your heart. Filter out the old static and tune in something new. Challenge your assumptions, identify and study people already doing what you want to do. Read books and listen to tapes that will motivate you to break away from the notorious “comfort zone.” Confront your fears. When one unsatisfying day just blurs into the next – your life is begging for a change.
Comfort zones put padlocks on the doors to growth, discovery, and adventure in your life, but three keys that will unlock those doors are discipline, hard work and faith. When it comes to progress, when it comes to change…Inch by inch, life’s a cinch. Yard by yard, life is hard. Unlock one door at a time, enjoy small successes, and soon you will have achieved your goals.
Some key points to remember: |
| 1. |
No pain! No gain! There will be some setbacks. |
| 2. |
Fear is a human emotion. The absence of fear is not courage; it’s brain damage. |
| 3. |
Give your fear a name and it becomes a problem. It’s easier to solve problems than to conquer fear. |
| 4. |
With each obstacle you overcome, your confidence will grow. Every time you conquer any fear…no matter how small…you are better prepared for the next challenge. |
|
| Change can truly be a wonderful gift! It can recharge your emotional battery and nourish your soul. Just do it! Choose change and let it make a positive difference in your life. |
Tags: motivate, motivation
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February 15th, 2011
Don’t Sell Yourself Short
It’s not what you have but what you do with what you have that will determine your success or failure. Abraham Maslow, the great psychologist said that the story of the human race is the story of people selling themselves short. He said people have a tendency to settle for far less from life than they are truly capable of. Many people are spinning their wheels in careers where they should be moving rapidly onward and upward. Here’s how you can put your career on the fast track.
Choose Your Parents Carefully
Someone once said that the key to success was to choose your parents carefully. That may be partially true but it is even more important to choose your job or career with great care. The choice of a job or occupation for which you are ideally suited comes before anything else. If you try to work at something you don’t enjoy or don’t believe in, you’ll never be happy, and you’ll never be successful.
Be the Best At What You Do
Which leads us to the next point. If you want to reach the stars in your career, you have to become excellent at what you do. You have to pay any price, go any distance, spend any amount of time necessary to “be the best.” Extraordinary rewards only go for extraordinary performance; average rewards for average performance; below average rewards, insecurity and failure for below average performance. And here’s a vital key, you are being paid today exactly what you’re worth – no more, no less. If you want to earn more, you must increase your worth, your value to others.
The Key to Motivation
The reason why choosing the right career, why doing what you love to do is so important, is because unless you really care about your work, you will never be motivated to persist at it until you become excellent. And until you become excellent at what you’re doing, you can’t move ahead.
The Key to Peak Performance
The antidote to these fears is the development of courage, character and self-esteem. The opposite of fear is actually love, self-love and self-respect. Acting with courage in a fearful situation is simply a technique that boosts our regard for ourselves to such a degree that our fears subside and lose their ability to effect our behavior and our decisions.
Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do to be more successful in your career.
First, set high standards for yourself and recognize that anything that someone else has achieved, you can probably achieve as well. There are no limits.
Second, select one key skill area that is important in your job and resolve to become absolutely excellent in that area. Start today to get better and better.
Tags: employee rewards, motivation, recognition programs, reward, reward programs
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