Just say it!

Don’t you wonder how much time is wasted by people just talking and talking and talking. Most people just want to get to the point, discuss it and leave. Here are a few tips on how to get what you want to say out:

1) Get to the burning issue that needs to be discussed

2) Give a quick overview

3) Give the new idea

4) Say the payoff

5) Say what needs to be done to get going…

If you guide your topic with the five bullets above, giving a speech will be simple. The work will get done in half the time and people will not be bored!

Leading from where?

When we think of a leader, we usually think of someone of higher status…well I don’t think that is where you are supposed to lead from. I believe the best leaders are the ones that lead from the middle. Think about it, in the center you can see what is happening on top, on bottom and from left to right. When you are leading just from the top, you really do not have the full capacity to do your best. Being a leader simply begins with the leadership loop, as described in the book The 360 Leader.

1) Caring: Making people a high enough priority

2) Learning: Getting to know the people

3) Appreciating: Respect

4) Contributing: Adding value to the people

5) Verbalizing: Affirming

6) Leading: Influencing

7) Succeeding: Winning

Instead of just putting time into a project or at work, why not teach someone something new or lead people towards something you believe is good. One of the advantages of leading from the middle is that you have the opportunity to see things from perspectives that many others don’t.

The importance of learning…

I believe that those who have learned a multitude of specialities are the ones that have survived during this recession. Learning is something that no one else will every be able to take away from you. I bet the people who got laid off this year were the ones that had self-motivation and determination to find a new job and hope it would not affect their family as dramatically. The ones who knew something other than what their job entailed were the ones to survive and get a new job. I say this from personal experience. Years ago my parents started off with only having one sub-contracting company. That one trade has increased to having knowledge in and doing work in five other trades. Because of this, we have survived the past year. Milena Regos said on a panel this week that ROI should be changed to ROE (return on engagement). If you want an investment, you must engage and work on what you want. When educating yourself by learning other specialities, you are able to subsist in any situation. This can simply begin with traveling and discovering other cultures and parts of this immense world, to reading or attending higher education. 

“Get over the idea that only children should spend their time in study. Be a student so long as you still have something to learn, and this will mean all your life. “~Henry L. Doherty 

How do we define success…by being an outlier?

How do we define success? Malcolm Gladwell, the author of outliers wrote “our hero is born in modest circumstances and by virtue of his own grit and talent fights his way to greatness.” When we are told that a person is successful, we ask how and what they are like. What we should do is not ask what they are like, but where they come from. Psychologist have found that many successful athletes begin their career by being lucky and being born a little late. What i mean by this is that the children that slightly miss the cutoff day to start school have an advantage. They are older in their class when they begin school but they have had an entire year of developing other talents. They are not just another student, starting school as everyone one, they are outliers and teachers often confuse maturity with ability.

It’s those who are successful who are likely to be given special opportunities to further success. For example, the rich get better tax breaks, better students get opportunities to better schools and teaching, and the bigger kids get the most coaching and practice.

If you are lucky enough to be one of those outliers, take advantage of what you have been given. For those who are not classified as outliers, do not be passive, instead pursue those goals. If not, you might as well live check by check and let the others pass you.

What is credibility?!

The most important thing that needs to happen after networking and making friends is building your credibility. This is the only thing that will make you different from many others. It is human nature to never have that same trust with someone that has not kept their word…even if it has happened once. Once you make your first impression, everything becomes a lot more easy (only if you build GOOD credibility). I agree that you should practice the following to build your credibility:

DO WHAT YOU SAY YOU ARE GOING TO DO

Be open to the ideas of others

Use facts

Be on Time

First impression is the only impression

Admit to mistakes and have a plan to fix them

Solicit feedback and act on it

** I always say, there are two things that you can not screw up on: 1) Your credit 2) Your reputation

The magic of networking in a virtual world.

Did you know that $300,000 businesses are on facebook? Did you know that people spend on average 10 hours per week on the facebook? My question is, why don’t you take advantage of networking in a very large amount with something that is free?! My family owns a general construction company (2K Construction) here in Reno, NV and I would have never thought to put the company on facebook! I thought this tool was childish and not for professional use…I was wrong. Facebook is just one of the many free tools you have out there to promote and network yourself and your business all over the world. 

The internet is a virus that can spread in a mass amount and extremely quickly. Networking is the one key element to success with anything you do. You have a huge company and top of the line equipment, but what is missing for everything to work? People! People are the essential function for anything to happen. By networking all over the world, this can market your business, but it can also benefit you personally. Do you want to travel for cheap? Make a friend oversees and have them show you around their town. Make friends, promote business, and educate yourself for free! 

What if you did the same thing forever?

So I read Seth Godin’s blog today about how most people complain that they want to do something, but their boss, significant other, publisher, etc. just won’t let them. So how exactly do you initiate change without causing too much chaos? Try these few tricks and see what happens…

1) Win Allies

2) Use “we”, not “I”. People who “think” they have ownership of something are much more likely to accept the change.

3) Use visuals

4) Take a chance

Imagine if you did the same thing everyday for the rest of your life…you would die of boredom! Have you ever sat in a meeting or in class and just thought you had the dumbest question, so you were not going to ask it? What usually happens next is that someone asks that same question! Take a chance and make a change…if it doesn’t work, there is always a solution.

My Purpose

For those of you who are wondering what I am going to blog about or what my purpose may be…

I truly believe that you are the only one in control of your destiny. Challenging and educating yourself is never going to be a setback. Many people think that things will come to them because they have a college degree or are just lucky, that I believe is not true. Think about what you have and what you want in life…are you content? I know many people who are not as smart as others but have worked their way up. I hope to give people tips or open their eyes to the importance of knowing you can do better. I want to relate this to work, family, friends and the real world events around us. I hope you stick with me for a while (especially since this is my first blog!)

“The biggest mistake you can make is continually fearing you will make one.”

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