Career Guidance You Don’t Want To Use — 
How To Motivate Your Staff!

It’s Friday, which means it’s time for career guidance that isn’t helpful, but it sure is funny.

This week’s one-minute video is both hilarious and painful. Enjoy!

If you are truly seeking career guidance, we’d love to serve you. Check out Live It Forward Coaching and our Home Study Course. Each is designed to help you discover your Vocational Calling and equip you to strategically pursue the work and life that you love!

Also, be sure to check out past Career Guidance You Don’t Want To Use posts. Here are five of my favorites!

• Get Your Mojo On
• Go Ahead And Do What You Want To Do
• Warning—Terrible Job Reference
• A Surefire Way To Land A Job
• Please Don’t Hurt Small Animals

How To Achieve Your Goals?  Push It Forward!

Goals!

We think about them. We set them. We strive to accomplish them. Yet often, we get discouraged because we’re not exactly sure how to achieve our goals.

More often than not, the best kept secret to how to achieve your goals is not a magic formula or some special sauce…it’s simply the ability to push through. I know, it sounds so simple; but we all know it’s not as simple as it sounds.

Do need some motivation on how to achieve your goals today? These quotes should inspire you to continue to “push it forward” towards achieving those goals that you know are worthwhile and important!

Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore. 
-Andre Gide

Nothing will work unless you do.
-John Wooden

The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person’s determination.
-Tommy Lasorda

Continuous effort—not strength or intelligence—is the key to unlocking our potential.
-Liane Cardes

(NOTE: Today is the kickoff of a new swim season for the team I coach, so I decided to repost this blog from June 2011. It’s something I wrote for the team concerning the key to success. I hope it inspires and encourages you today!)

The Bullhorn of Your Actions — The #1 Key To Success

I think the following phrase might be the #1 key to success in the most important roles of our lives…What we believe in is evidenced by how we live, not just by what we say.

Did you catch that?

What we believe in is evidenced by how we LIVE, not just by what we say.

As many of you know, I coach a summer swim team. It’s very different than the other sports I’ve coached over the years. For one, the team is larger (last year we have 155 swimmers ages 4-18 years old / this year we are closer to 180). Two, we have practice practically every weekday morning from 8-11 AM. Three, our swim meets are 6-7 hour events…warm-ups start around 5 PM and most meets finish sometime around 11 PM (give or take an hour). Finally, the behind-the-scenes work coaches have to do (i.e. the paperwork of seeding a meet), along with all the behind-the-scenes work that volunteers have to do is enormous. As I often say, the people who run a swim meet effectively could probably run any major organization or endeavor.

All and all, coaching swimming is a huge investment of time, energy, and focus. At the same time, the return on that investment is just as enormous. The opportunities to teach life lessons to swimmers (and LEARN them myself) are abundant, and I’d love to share one of the lessons I’ve taught (and learned) during the past few weeks.

Recently, I challenged several swimmers with the question: “What is TRUE sportsmanship?” In each case, my goal was to help swimmers realize that true sportsmanship is a key to success in life and sports. Additionally, I wanted swimmers to realize that true sportsmanship is shown more by making wise choices and taking the right actions than by shaking hands and saying “nice swim” at the end of the race….because words, without proper actions, are empty.

What’s more, I’ve had the opportunity to communicate with swimmers and the parents of swimmers on our team that showing TRUE sportsmanship means:

• Listening to and respectfully following through with the requests made by coaches.
• Encouraging and building up other swimmers, especially swimmers on our team, and not tearing them down.
• Knowing what events you are swimming and not wandering off before those events causing staging people and teammates to search high and low for you.
• Taking 100 percent responsibility for your attitude, actions, articulation, and associations…and not making excuses when a mistake is made in these areas.
• Swimming your best both in technique and speed (i.e. “leaving it all in the pool”) no matter what place you come in or what place your relay team comes in.

The reality is we are at that point in the season where real “swim it forward” and “live it forward” life lessons can be taught and caught, and each of the above examples actually happened during the past few weeks. What’s more, each situation gave me the opportunity to talk to individuals about TRUE sportsmanship and about the true keys to success in sports and life.

Parents of Stingrays swimmers (as well as any other parents reading this blog), may I encourage you to have similar conversations with your children? I have three teenage swimmers in my family and wow, does our swim team give me a great opportunity to teach significant “live it forward” life lessons to each of them. So, let’s all be intentional and take advantage of every opportunity given to us to teach our kids how to live it forward in the most important roles of life. Again, this is probably the #1 key to success in all the major roles we play in life.

And by the way, I am proudest of our team when a swimmer or a relay team is in last place and team members are still cheering and encouraging their teammates to “leave it all in the pool.” Swimming your hardest when the race is close is easy. Swimming your hardest when you or your team has been lapped is much more difficult. It takes character and confidence to continue to swim your guts out…and personally, nothing makes me prouder!

Stingrays…I was VERY proud of our team this past Thursday night. Very proud!!

(Pictures provided by Kerry Kruegler)

NOTE: One of the reasons I continue to coach swimming is because as a professional speaker who speaks to middle school and high school students all across the nation, as well as educators and youth workers who serve middle school and high school students, staying involved in the real lives of young people and their families is critical to remaining relevant as a communicator.

To find out more about my speaking services, click on logo below:

Wondering How To Get Motivated?
Just Watch This Kid!

It’s Friday, which usually means it’s time for career guidance that isn’t too helpful, but it sure is funny. Today, however, we’re going to take a different path.

As most readers know, I’m a professional speaker. Additionally, I host the Speak It Forward Boot Camp for those who are looking to get into public speaking. Probably the #1 questions I’m asked as a speaker and as a trainer of speakers is a “how to get motivated” question. Not how do I get motivated personally, but how do I as a speaker get an audience motivated?

I could share a lot of the strategies I use to motivate an audience (and probably will in future post), but since today is Friday, I’m going to keep it lighthearted and just encourage you to follow this boy’s lead. It’s a really fun “how to get motivated” video. Enjoy!

Keys to Success (Sort Of) —
3 Signals You’re About To Do Something Really Stupid!

Picture by Peter Cuba via Flickr

Wouldn’t it be great if a red warning light immediately started flashing the moment we’re about to do something stupid? Add an ear-piercing alarm in conjunction with the red flashing light and that would be even better!

Well, I consider the 3 signals below red warning lights and blaring alarms that I’m probably on the verge of doing something stupid…REALLY STUPID! In fact, if you want to discover a few keys to success in your life, consider doing the exact opposite of what I’m about to describe.

If you’re doing anything to kiss up to someone, you’re probably about to do something really stupid!

Doing something to serve and add value to someone else’s life is one of the keys to success in life and is truly a beautiful thing. Doing something to kiss up to someone or just because we’re unable to say “no” is downright ugly.

If you’re doing anything because “everyone else is doing it,” you’re probably about to do something really stupid!

Let’s stop following the crowd! One of the greatest keys to success is simply doing the opposite of what 90 percent of people do.  In fact, Earl Nightingale’s classic advice is some of the best I’ve ever read!

If you’re doing anything based solely on an emotional reaction, you’re probably about to do something really stupid!

Most emotions are “in the moment” and can be very deceptive. Rarely is a wise decision made in the heat of emotions; therefore, allowing ourselves some time and space to cool off and think before reacting is always a good move!

QUESTION: These are 3 signals I try to pay attention to in order to keep myself from doing something really stupid. What about you? Are these signals helpful? Any signals you’d like to add to the list?

Thoughts on Success — How Persistant Are You?

A lot of people share thoughts on success in the blogosphere, but every once in a while someone shares something that really grabs my attention. The video below is one of those thoughts on success that captured my attention because it’s a “picture paints a thousand words” sort of video.

QUESTION:  Have you ever demonstrated persistence in your life or work? Did it pay off? Share more of your story with us!

NOTE: A special thanks to my good friends, Michael and Claudia Good, who originally shared this video on their rise365.com blog. Their blog is a great one to follow!

(BTW…I love having “good” friends with the last night “Good.” How cool is that?!)

Career Guidance You Don’t Want To Use —
Actually…This Time You Do!

It’s Friday, which means it’s time for career guidance that usually isn’t too helpful or insightful, but it sure is funny.

This week our short video actually contains a golden nugget of truth: your career is your thing, so make sure you do what you really want to do for work. 

Now that’s some outstanding advice!

If you are truly seeking career guidance, we’d love to serve you. Check out Live It Forward Coaching and our Home Study Course. Each is designed to help you discover your Vocational Calling and equip you to strategically pursue the work and life that you love!

Also, be sure to check out past Career Guidance You Don’t Want To Use posts. Here are five of my favorites!

• Warning—Terrible Job Reference
• Best Tactics For Avoiding Meetings
• A Surefire Way To Land A Job
• Please Don’t Hurt Small Animals
• Cubicle Hurdling

Keys for Success for Entrepreneurs — 3 Roadblocks to Avoid!

As most of you know, Live It Forward LLC provides several services. First, I do a lot of keynote and seminar speaking, primarily in the youth and educators market. Even though these services are listed on a different website, they are technically part of my Live It Forward business. Second, we host a lot of teleseminars and live conferences like the Speak It Forward Boot Camp. Third, one of the primary services we provide is individual life and career coaching. Every few months, I work with 3-4 clients helping them discover their vocational calling, map out their life plan, and create a strategic, step-by-step implementation plan for making the move to the life and work they love.

Interestingly, during the past few years the number of clients that choose to pursue the entrepreneurial road continues to grow significantly. What’s more, every single one of these clients is hungry to discover the keys to success for entrepreneurs.

If you fall into this crowd, CONGRATS!!!! The entrepreneurial path is exciting, freeing, and an absolute blast! Additionally, if you’ve read this blog for any amount of time, you know I’m passionate about being an entrepreneur myself, and that I’ve written quite a bit about the keys to success for entrepreneurs in past blogs like this one.

But don’t kid yourself, the entrepreneurial road is not only challenging, it can also be frustrating and downright scary. Therefore, if you are considering jumping onto the entrepreneurial path, here are 3 roadblocks you definitely want to avoid. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that one of the keys to success for entrepreneurs is avoiding each of these major roadblocks.

Roadblock #1:  Living in a Fantasy Land

This might be the most common roadblock—dreaming, or should I say fantasizing, about what it is like to be your own boss. Sure, working for yourself gives you freedom and flexibility; but let’s get serious for a moment…freedom and flexibility are challenging. As my friend and nationally-known life and career coach Dan Miller says, “If you are going to work for yourself, you MUST be your own, best, task master.” As I’ve found out, “best” is the key word here. Yes, you have more freedom and flexibility, as well as more control of your time. At the same time, you also have to work harder and, at least for the first few years, longer. Even more, the “weight” of working for yourself feels light when things are going smoothly and the revenue is flowing. Yet, when things are challenging and revenue is dripping, the “weight” can feel overwhelming.

So, if you want to be a true entrepreneur, then you need to stop vacationing in “Fantasy Land.” Instead, take a trip to the real world and look at self-employment through crystal-clear lenses. Self-employment is awesome, but it’s also challenging…significantly so…and coming to grips with this reality is one of the keys to success for entrepreneurs.

Roadblock #2: Not Enough “Net” in Your “Work”

Networking is a smoking-hot business term right now. In fact, there are tons of slogans associated with networking, such as:

• “Your net worth is only as big as your network.”
• “Network your way to success!”
• “It’s not what you know; it’s who you know.”

I know, these sayings can be a bit cheesy, but don’t throw out the nuggets of truth with the Cheese Whiz. Networking is one of the keys to success for entrepreneurs. I’m not talking about attending meetings where the primary objective is to talk about yourself and pass out business cards; I’m talking about authentic, relational connections with other individuals you respect, value, and trust. For instance, how well are you connected with:

• Individuals in your field—experts, competitors, affiliates, and partners?
• People or vendors that provide services you need—IT support, accounting, and legal advise?
• Advisers and supportive friends?

You will need ALL these people if you plan to start your own business and still be in business 12 months later. So if you don’t have a strong “net” in your “work,” start sewing it today. Down the road, you will discover that a solid network is one of the keys to success for entrepreneurs.

Roadblock #3: Working “IN’ Your Business Instead of “ON” Your Business

When starting a small business, you will wear many hats. Let me be more realistic…you will likely wear ALL the hats! This means you’ll be establishing relationships with supplier, marketing and selling products and services, taking and fulfilling customer orders, answering phone calls, dealing with customer complaints, setting up websites, and much, much more. However, if you want to succeed as a small business owner, you have to eventually move from spending all your time working “IN” your business to spending significant chunks of time working “ON” your business. Here are two very practical things you can do from the start to help make this happen:

Write a Solid Business Plan. I am amazed by how many clients I work with that fight me on this step. Not only will writing a business plan help you know where to start and how to start, if done correctly, it will also enable you to forecast where you want your business to be at in a few years and how you plan to staff for growth. Even if you are like me and don’t want full-time employees, you can still forecast what jobs you will contract out.

Give Time Everyday to Growing Your Business. I try to give at least one hour a day, if not two, to what I call “revenue generating initiatives.” Even more, I try to do this first thing in the morning. Instead of answering emails or doing administrative tasks, I spend my most productive hours doing something to grow my business. It might be developing a new product, working on a marketing letter, or calling prospects. This small principle, applied everyday is one of the greatest keys to success for entrepreneurs and has created huge dividends for my business over the long-term.

Wrapping It Up

I hope you realize I could have listed more than 3 entrepreneurial roadblocks. For instance:

• Pricing your products and services too low
• Pricing your products and services too high
• Wrong location
• Taking on too much debt

The point here is not to write about every potential roadblock, but instead to write about 3 of the most common roadblocks with which I have seen many of the coaching clients struggle. What’s more, these roadblocks are more “big picture” than “specific.” What I mean is these are strategic, philosophical, mindset issues that all entrepreneurs must understanding before launching onto the “owning my own business” road. My hope is that if you are pursuing the entrepreneurial path, these thoughts help you succeed along the way!

Travel on, my friends!

If you are interested in finding out more about the life and career coaching Live It Forward provides, click here.

Optimism — A Major Key to Success
It’s The Best Way To See Life!

Today wasn’t a “scheduled” blog day, but Kathy forwarded me a cartoon that I had to share with you.

As you know, I believe a major key to success in my life is optimism. Why is optimism such an important key to success? For one, true optimism helped me overcome several significant learning challenges I experienced early on in life. Overcoming these challenges was not a short journey; it’s a battle I fought for years and still fight to some extent today. Two, optimism is the character trait that has probably helped me grow the most, both personally and professionally, no matter what events or circumstances I’ve faced. Because of these two realities, as well as several others, I share the importance of optimism during every one of my speaking engagement. (Take a glance at a core element in all my speaking presentations — E+R=O — to find out more.)

With that said, I hope this simple cartoon brings a smile to your face. Even more, I hope it reminds you that genuine optimism truly is a major key to success in both your personal and professional life.

You Don’t Want Some People Praying For You —
Because You Don’t Want Their Prayers Answered!

The church I attend was wrapping up a series this weekend and used the video below to introduce the message. It’s hilarious and will definitely put a smile on your face. Enjoy!

Oh, and by the way, please don’t pray for me if you’re anything like this guy