Josh Hinds - Syndicated columnist - Writer - Author - New Media Publisher :o)
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| Josh Hinds' Motivational & Inspirational Journal Josh Hinds - Syndicated columnist - Writer - Author - New Media Publisher :o) |
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Friday, March 29, 2002 The little things increase your network of influence BIG time! (c)2002 The other day I got a note from my friend Bob Burg (www.burg.com) letting me know I'd been quoted in Steve Goodier's inspirational ezine. I'm used to Bob taking the time to let me know of things like that, or dropping an e-mail of appreciation for little things that which might have otherwise gone unnoticed by most people (myself included at times). However, this time it set me on the path of thinking just how powerful what he'd done is. Perhaps more importantly how we might all take a lesson from him and be all the better for it. Let me recount the event and I think you'll see where I am coming from. Bob sent the e-mail simply to let me know (and as a way to say, congratulations), which I of course appreciated. I sent an e-mail to Steve to thank him for quoting me. Steve wrote back and from our meeting he's agreed to have some of his articles appear in my newsletter. So just right there you have a win, win situation. Here's where it gets interesting though. Bob has greatly strengthened his relationship with both me and Steve just from that one little e-mail. Here's another interesting way of looking at this. The next time I have a lead or believe someone would be a good match for Bob, you can bet I'm not going to think twice about dropping him a message about it. The incredible thing is that he's cultivating powerful relationships, both business and personal with people just like me all the time. This is a lesson we can all take to heart. And it's not something that is going to an inordinate amount of effort on our part to put into action. It will however take constantly being on the lookout for ways to add new value to your relationships. In the process you'll strengthen your personal network of people, which in turn creates vast opportunities... Your friend in cyberspace, Josh Hinds :-) posted by Josh Hinds | Permalink Friday, March 22, 2002 Each Day Offers New Opportunities By Josh Hinds (c) 2002 Understand that with each new day you *will* encounter at least one new opportunity to advance your current position in life! You might be saying "How on earth do you know that?" I say it because I see the pattern repeat itself in my own life as well as most everyone I come into contact with. Does that mean that I'm always tuned in to the opportunities while they're happening? Unfortunately not (by the way if anyone out there can do that please share your secret :-). However, upon reflection of the days events I can see many of these things as they had been presented to me. For me personally the important thing is that I don't allow myself to regret *any* of the missed opportunities. Instead I choose to simply make myself aware of the fact that they were sent my way. I then make a solid commitment to myself before I go to sleep that the following day I will try to be more attuned to my surroundings!... Your friend in cyberspace, Josh Hinds posted by Josh Hinds | Permalink Saturday, March 16, 2002 Mentors Are All Around Us By Josh Hinds (c) 2002 Do you have a library card? At this point you're probably asking yourself how in the world this is possibly going to translate into a commentary on self-improvement. Bear with me on this because it's going to fit together I promise :-) Sadly, if you're like most folks you don't have one. Not only that, you might not even remember the last time you took advantage of these incredible repositories of knowledge. In actuality the word incredible is a gross understatement to describe just how much is waiting for us all on those bookshelves. And in many cases for FREE to boot! It's been said many times that a person can become an expert in just about anything provided they take the amount of required time for them to learn the subject. I won't go in depth here but suffice it to say I am huge proponent of continued self education. I hope that you are as well. There are many methods you and I can apply to put ourselves on the path towards continuos education. We've got the Internet. We've got those around us & our mentors. We have all kinds of formal education and not so formal... and of course we have libraries. As promised in my opening statement, here's how it all fits together. I read a whole lot of personal development books and listen to a lot of tapes. It's not uncommon for me to not know what's currently playing on the radio stations because I prefer to use my driving time as learning time. In addition to personal development I also like to read biography's and auto-biography's of people I am interested. There's an old saying that I simply love which say's "Success Leaves Clues". It's in this truth that leads me to read a lot of biographies. So this past week I wanted to get a better grasp of courage, persistence, and the will to simply not give up in the face of dire situations. On stroll through the audio section of my library I found a copy of the autobiography of Lance Armstrong, called "It's Not About The Bike - My Journey Back to Life". If you're not familiar with Lance's story let me tell you it's an incredible example of courage and a willingness to prevail over the odds. I simply can't do justice to what an impact listening to it had on me. You see, Lance is a cyclist who at the peak of his career was diagnosed with testicular cancer. The story did not end there. Not by a long shot! Lance Armstrong went on to not only beat his battle with cancer, but to become the 3-time winner of the Tour de France (1999-2001). It's told from a very real stand point, he points out in the beginning that it's not your traditional rose colored story of overcoming the odds. It's a wonderful heartfelt example of courage and hope and willingness to keep going no matter what might come our way. Such examples of courage, hope, and just about anything else you care to learn about are all around us, many of which are available in places such as your area library. Take an active role in your own personal growth and start taking advantage of such resources. As follow-up to the story of Lance Armstrong I've just started listening to "Still Me" an autobiography of Christopher Reeve. The simple fact is that mentors are all around us. They can come in many forms, from people we interact with, to the stories of them in books and tapes... Your friend in cyberspace, Josh Hinds :-) posted by Josh Hinds | Permalink Friday, March 08, 2002 Motivators... Catch Folks Doing It Right By Josh Hinds (c) 2002 Do you know one of the best ways to motivate other people and get them involved? Here's a clue... It's not always as simple as quoting a passage from a motivational book or threatening to fire someone, or screaming at the top of your lungs about how incompetent they are :-) I'm not downplaying motivational material. Believe me, I read it all day long. I'm 100% sold on it. However, it tends to be one of those things that positively impacts the person reading it at the time. Not necessarily the person you want to motivate or inspire. Particularly if they're not the type person who reads or listens to it themselves. The downside of threatening to fire someone can have several implications. Sure you might get the immediate spur in productivity you were looking for, but in the long run you could end up losing much more then you gain. For example, it can create a sense of disloyalty and distrust in people. Then there's the question of what happens if the person you're threatening to fire beats you to it and quits on the spot? You say it wouldn't bother you, but is that really the case? Essentially you've created a whole other problem. Now you've got rehire someone, spend time and money training them, etc. I think you see where I am going with this right? So what's the solution you ask? Obviously you don't want folks running around unproductive and you want those around you to operate at peak performance. Here's my suggestion... Catch those around you doing something good! Admittedly this might sound overly simple, but you have to realize it's in this very simplicity that makes it so effective. People love to be rewarded. Often we miss the point that people are motivated in different ways. For some folks it might be monetary rewards, perhaps it is something like being publicly recognized in a group of their peers, or shown appreciation in the company newsletter for a job well done. This simple idea stretches both into the world of business and one's personal life. It makes no difference if you're talking about dealing with your family or a disgruntled employee the fact remains that people like to be appreciated. They may tell you otherwise, but it's one of life's inescapable truths. The more you look for ways to catch people doing things well, the less you're going to find yourself worrying about the other. Now it's time to get out there and catch those around you doing something good. One word of caution, be genuine in your approach. If you do, the rest will take care of itself... Your friend in cyberspace, Josh Hinds posted by Josh Hinds | Permalink Friday, March 01, 2002 Look for the win, win! - I'm absolutely convinced that if we look hard enough at any given situation we can identify a win, win situation in it. "So what's the big deal about win, win" you ask? Admittedly, I know a lot of people (many are friends of mine) that go day to day in their business dealings (and personal lives for that matter) looking for opportunities that only benefit themselves directly. Now I am not saying there's necessarily anything wrong with this. Even so, I can't help but imagine that their personal level of success might multiply if they only took the extra time to explore ways to ensure that the opportunity was equally beneficial to all parties involved. There's something magical about focusing on win, win scenarios. When we're fortunate enough to develop ourselves to the point where we are always looking for these types of opportunities it's as if they come out of the woodwork :-) The fact is people like to deal with those that don't have the "what's in it for me attitude", don't you agree? Believe me, I'll be the first to admit that there are plenty of people who have done very well for themselves without adhering to the win, win approach. However, I wonder if one might really consider them successful? Keep in mind that success has so many facets to it. Just because someone has attained material wealth for instance does not make him or her successful nor non-successful. It is all in the eye of the beholder I guess you might say. For me personally, I measure my level of success by how much I can give back to others... Your friend in cyberspace, Josh Hinds :-) posted by Josh Hinds | Permalink |
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