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Podcast title	Progress Coaching
Website URL	http://progresscoaching.blogsp...
Description	Let the Sun shine in
Updated	Wed, 03 Feb 2010 04:36:40 +0000
Category	Health
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Episodes
1. Episode 003 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r... download (, 0.00Mb) Description: The third Progress Coaching podcast is now available. On this episode: Getting out of your box How to do more exercise Passion for the Planet Paul McKenna's 'ICan Make You Rich' Listen via the player below: Powered by Podbean.com Listen here
2. Get out of your box http://feedproxy.google.com/~r... download (, 0.00Mb) Description: Take a look around your home. If you're not reading this at home, imagine your home. Whether it is a house or a flat, your home is probably a box. In fact, in most cases, your home is a big box made of smaller boxes: living room, bedroom, kitchen, etc. Now think about your journey to work. Do you travel to work by car? On the bus? How about by train? Yes, you've guessed it, more boxes. If you walk or cycle to work, you're lucky. You're already out of your box! You get out of your box at the beginning and end of every working day. Whether you work in an open-plan office, or have your own office, or work in a shop, you spend most of your day in a box! I'm sure you get the idea. We spend most of the day in a box. When engaging in creative thinking, we are encouraged to 'think outside the box'. This is an excellent concept that can provide all sorts of insights into problems. I'd like to suggest that you make space to apply this to the rest of your daily life. Get out of your box and look for opportunities to wander through the outside world. If possible, walk, don't drive. Get of the bus one or two stops early. Go for a short walk in the evening instead of sitting down in front of the box. If you're worried about the weather, remember there's no such thing as cold weather, only inappropriate clothing. Getting out of your box is an excellent way to relieve stress or mull over problems.
3. How to do more exercise http://feedproxy.google.com/~r... download (, 0.00Mb) Description: I've just started a physical exercise programme. It's not particularly strenuous – a combination of brisk walking, sit ups, lifting a few weights and spending some time on my exercise bike. After a few short weeks, I managed to develop this into a regular routine. At the appointed hour I find myself reaching for my trainers and donning my exercise garb for the day's workout. Proof indeed that a repeated action can become a habit. One day, because of work commitments – I do more than write my blog – I found that I wouldn't have enough time for my routine. 'Easy,' I thought, 'I'll just do twice as much the next day to compensate.' Unfortunately, when that day came around I decided, 'Oh, it doesn't matter. I'll just do my normal routine.' So in fact I had allowed myself to fall behind in my programme. My commitment was poor. So, the next time I knew I wasn't going to be able to do my exercises I hit upon a better strategy to defeat my predicted lethargy. I reasoned, 'Why not do twice as much exercise the day before?' This was much easier than postponing. I was a lot more primed to do the exercise because I was focussed on the idea of doing it before the missing day. Although I did the same amount of walking, I doubled the number of sit ups, reps with the weights and time spent on the exercise bike. The next part of the story really explains how to do more exercise. After completing the new workout I realised that if it is possible for me to do that amount of exercise that day, it's possible for me to do the same amount every day. Now I have a new exercise regime that involves twice as many sit ups and reps with the weights. I felt so good about this new regime I decided to add a bit more walking as well. So my new exercise regime is now more intensive than my original one. And, if I miss a day because of work, it doesn't matter because I am already doing more exercise than I was before. Therefore if you have an exercise routine that you are doing and you know there's a day coming up when you won't be able to follow it, just do like me. Increase the amount of exercise you do before the day off and then make that your new routine.
4. Passion for the Planet http://feedproxy.google.com/~r... download (, 0.00Mb) Description: I've posted before about the negative effects of the news on our mood and outlook. It's a fact that if we surround ourselves with positivity we will feel more positive and vice-a-versa. Therefore, I'd like to tell you about a discovery that I've made that will provide a more optimistic backdrop to your life while pottering around at home. It's the radio station Passion for the Planet. Londoners can pick it up on digital radio. The rest of us can tune in online at www.passionfortheplanet.com. The station is a mixture of short features, uplifting music from around the world and adverts for healthy goods and services. There are no DJs. Check it out. If you're reading this blog, it's definitely for you.
5. I Can Make You Rich by Paul McKenna http://feedproxy.google.com/~r... download (, 0.00Mb) Description: Released in hardback a few months ago, this is the latest offering from 'the world's top NLP trainer' Paul McKenna. In McKenna's typical attention-grabbing style he has gone for a title that his publishers hope will have the book flying off the shelves. Let's face it, having loads of cash is a near universal aspiration. However, the book is about more than making piles of money: McKenna defines being rich as living life on your own terms. He believes it's possible to have an average income and still be rich. He states the answer lies in 'rich thinking'. If you've read any of McKenna's previous books, you'll notice that some ideas are repeated from those. This could leave admirers feeing cheated. McKenna has also made a play for the American market with quotes from Stateside sports stars. However, the rich people he models are Brits: the late Anita Roddick, Virgin boss Richard Branson and shopkeeper Peter Greene. The book outlines a number of exercises for replacing limiting beliefs and resetting your 'wealth thermostat'. These are a mixture of visualisations and EFT (Emotional Freedom Therapy). Like previous McKenna offerings, this one includes a hypnosis CD which he exhorts you to use throughout the book. The CD is quite curious because McKenna has changed his voice and made it smoother, more relaxing and more natural. This is a definet improvement. By the way, am I the only person who falls asleep about 5 minutes into these CDs? This book is definitely worth the investment. The changes in behaviour that come about as a result of following McKenna's suggestions should repay the cost.
6. The News Fast Video http://feedproxy.google.com/~r... download (, 0.00Mb) Description: Here's an opportunity to check out a short video I've made to illustrate the news fast - living without TV and radio news.
7. Podcast Episode 002 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r... download (audio/mpeg, 6.38Mb) Description: On this podcast I’ll be talking about: How to love your job Achieving goals quickly Reaching abstract goals The low-carnage diet - life without TV and radio news Listen to this episode
8. The news fast http://feedproxy.google.com/~r... download (, 0.00Mb) Description: My news fast is more of a low-carnage diet than complete abstinence from what the media likes to tell us is going on in the world. Total withdrawal would be near impossible for me as I have a part-time job reading the news on the TV and read it once a week on the radio. I've been curbing my news intake for about three months now and the effects are really starting to kick in as my spirits are uplifted and my attention is devoted to more inspiring pursuits. The problem with the news is that, apart from the odd fluffy story, it's nearly all bad: people dying in suicide bombings, missing children and financial crisis. Seeing, hearing or reading about these depressing topics eats at the soul. We become bombarded with problems over which we have no control. They lie outside our circle of influence and create helplessness. I have to be realistic here. In the modern world it is difficult to avoid the media. Therefore, I make a conscious effort not to watch news on the TV and switch it off on the radio. I still check the newspapers because they give me an opportunity to be selective about what I expose myself to. Most days I spend a little while flicking through the Guardian, Times and Telegraph websites. The difference now is I only click on the links to stories that I think will teach me something new or inspire me. That's often technology stories or profiles of interesting and successful people. For you it might be something else. I've also stopped watching TV. I haven't thrown out my TV, but once or twice a week rent a DVD. This allows me to choose what I allow into my life. I only rent films that are going to make me laugh or feel good. As for the radio, I rarely listen to live radio. The BBC's Listen Again feature is superb for me. I can choose any programme from the last seven days and listen to that. I always base my choice on whether or not I will gain anything mentally or spiritually from the programme. Another advantage is that I have more time to devote to my passions. The things that bring me alive and make me feel good. I go sailing or play golf. In fact my skills in both of these areas have improved immensely since I switched off the news. I also read more and write entries for my blog. In short I engage in more pleasurable and creative activities. Avoiding the news has been a tremendous benefit to me. I suggest you try it. After a few weeks without its negativity weighing down on you will smile more, live more and achieve more. In short: no news is good news
9. Achieving abstract goals http://feedproxy.google.com/~r... download (, 0.00Mb) Description: Most of us are familiar with concrete goals like doubling our salary in one year, becoming mortgage-free in five years or weighing 11 stone by Christmas. These goals are easy to viusalise, and our path towards them is easy to plot and record. However, sometimes we might like to set ourselves goals which are more abstract; like improving our relationship with a colleague or feeling happier with ourselves and experiencing more joy. These abstract goals can be achieved by adapting some of the goal setting techniques used for achieving concrete goals. The most important thing to do is to find a way of measuring your progress towards the abstract goal. Suppose you set yourself the abstract goal of improving your relationship with a colleague. You need to be able to measure the quality of the relationship with that person, and decide what level of quality you would like it to be. Start by thinking about that person and your relationship with them. Then put a numerical value, from one to ten, on the quality of the relationship (where ten is the highest - very happy -and one is the lowest - unhappy). You would probably come out about four. This shows there’s plenty of room for improvement. Now you should think about your relationship with a colleague who you have a good relationship with. What figure on the one to ten scale would you give this relationship? An eight or a nine? Use this figure to determine what level of relationship you would like with the colleague with whom you want to improve your relationship. Now you have a goal, you should set a deadline by which you want to achieve the new level relationship. Now we come to the most important part of any goal setting activity – the action steps. These are up to you. This is where you make your goal happen. These action steps can involve any number of things for this goal. However, here are some suggestions of mine. You could make a habit of visiting them and offering assistance. You could show an interest in them and listen to them more. Of course I mean actively listen, not just spend your time trying to work what contribution you’re going to make. This technique can be applied to any abstract goal. Think about the current situation. Apply a numerical value to the level of satisfaction you feel. Think about another situation that has the desired feeling and attach a numerical value to it. Set yourself a deadline by which to achieve the higher level of happiness and satisfaction. Work out some action steps to take you closer to the goal and monitor your progress on the way by thinking about the situation and applying values.
10. Podcast 001 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r... download (audio/mpeg, 4.65Mb) Description: This is the Progress Coaching podcast. It's the podcast that lets the Sun shine into your life. The Progress Coaching podcast brings you an array of motivational features, stories and ideas to encourage you to achieve your goals and live a happier, fuller and more contented like. On this podcast I’ll be talking about how to get honest feedback on your work. There’s a personal story about why you should live every day to the maximum. Plus, a reason why you should act on your ideas today, and not tomorrow. Finally I will tell you why I’ve stopped reading horoscopes. Listen here The Progress Coaching podcast will be published on a monthly basis.
11. Don’t complain about your useless employment http://feedproxy.google.com/~r... download (, 0.00Mb) Description: Don’t complain about your useless employment Jack it in forever tonight Or shut your mouth And think of all the money you got Strummer / Jones The Clash ‘Clash City Rockers’ Had a tough day at the office? A tough week? Month? Year? When things go wrong at work or we are unhappy with our jobs the temptation is to moan and groan to anybody who will give you the time of day. Worse still, having an audience for our woes becomes addictive. We seek out and depend on the attention that having others listen to our problems gives us. What’s the effect of this? Well, we become more and more despondent and detest our jobs more. The negative emotions running around our bodies gorge on each other and multiply. The whole body drowns in negativity. This impacts badly on our demeanour. We smile less and less and slouch more and more. The end result is we enjoy life less and less. So, how do we break this cycle of negativity? It’s easy really. At the end of the day, go to a nice quiet place at home. Take out a piece of paper. At the top, write “I like my job because …’’ Them list all the reasons why you like your job. The first item should be simple. It’s contained in the quote above from the Clash. It’s the money. No matter how much or how little you get paid, you still get something from it. This money enables you to do things you wouldn’t be able to do without the job. Now think about some of the other benefits. Do you get paid holidays? Do you meet people? Do you learn things? Write down all the reasons you can think of as to why you like your job. You should be able to come to about fifteen. Now get another piece of paper. At the top of that write, “I love my job because …” Refer back to your previous list and write down all the reasons why you love your job. The next two stages are vital. Stand in front of a mirror before you got to bed that night and look yourself straight in the eye. Then smile and recount the items from the list in a strong voice. “I love my job because of the money it gives me” Now for the second stage of the process. Every morning, before you go to work, stand in front of the mirror and recount the list just you did on that first night. Do with a stronger emotional intensity every time. You’re now setting yourself up for a perfect day at work. Why does this work? Well it helps us to cultivate gratitude. By focusing on the things we are grateful for, we create more abundance and more things to be grateful for. Try it and with a few days your job will get better and better.
12. Achieve goals quickly http://feedproxy.google.com/~r... download (, 0.00Mb) Description: Here’s a very quick and simple exercise to assist in achieving and reaching your goals. Take a piece of blank A4 paper. Write down ten things you would like to achieve in the next year. Don’t worry about the importance of them, or how difficult they may seem. The main thing is to get the first ten things that come to your mind down on the paper. Now look at the list. Imagine that you have been granted a wish. Imagine that you can achieve any one of these goals in the next twenty four hours. Which one will it be? The answer should jump out at you immediately. Don’t spend too long contemplating this question. Choose as quickly as you can. After choosing your goal, turn the piece of paper over. Now write down all the steps you need to take to achieve that goal. Imagine that you have achieved the goal. Think about what you needed to do before getting there and write it all down step by step. This is the really important part. Resolve to do something every day to work your way through the steps to achieving your goal. If you do something every day, you’ll be amazed at the difference it will make to your life.
13. Is it really written in the stars? http://feedproxy.google.com/~r... download (, 0.00Mb) Description: Botherer of God followers Richard Dawkins has turned his attention to New Age mysticism in a series of programmes for the UK’s Channel 4 Television. Judging by the reaction, a sizeable – previously silent – portion of the British population is pleased to have an academic scientist debunk homeopathy and the like. I have a confession to make. I was once taken in by astrology. I must admit that I’ve been through times when the first thing I turned to in the newspaper was the horoscopes. To make matters worse, I even went as far as having daily, weekly, monthly and yearly horoscopes delivered straight to my inbox. Oh, the satisfaction I used to feel when opening an email to find that today is going to be a good day, especially if I wear pink! The best days this month for asking for a pay rise are the 9th and 26th. Romance is in the air in the second half of the year (What? Six months away?!). Upon reflection, I was most vulnerable to this kind of guff when I was low or feeling unfulfilled or anxious. The biggest problem was that - because my mind was not functioning effectively - I allowed the stars to rule my day, week, month, year and life. My feelings of optimism or pessimism were dictated by the heavens. Slowly I’ve woken up from this extreme form of paralysis. I now realize that my life and its outcomes have nothing to do with the alignment of Mercury and Venus. I control my destiny. I can decide if today is going to be a good day or bad day. Either way I am always right. I recently got a pay rise because I persuaded my boss I was worth it. I simply made an honest appeal based on my abilities and the level of service I provide and my request was granted. I’ve no idea whether my stars said it was a good thing to do; or if I asked on the right day or the best day. I simply went ahead and did it. I suggest you do the same. If you’re ill, go and see a doctor and not a New Age quack. If you’re grieving a lost loved one, seek professional help and not a medium. The future is in our actions, not the stars or the tea leaves.
14. Live every day like it's your last http://feedproxy.google.com/~r... download (, 0.00Mb) Description: My stepfather was a keen motorcyclist and used to go riding most Sundays. However, he didn’t go in for holidays that much. He couldn’t see the point of them and thought they cost too much money. The first holiday my mother took my brother and I on was a camping trip round the Isle of Wight. My stepfather had no interest in coming with us; probably for the reasons outlined above. Therefore, the three of us took off together. To be honest this was probably the best arrangement. Another year we went camping in Devon and Cornwall and my stepfather came along to moan about the cost of everything and generally put a downer on what could have been a lovely holiday. Luckily, he didn’t join us the next time. So, why am I telling this story? Well, when my stepfather was 42 he was diagnosed with stomach cancer – a cruel fate to befall someone who neither smoked nor drank. The doctors all told him he had about two years left to live. This news brought about a big change in him. My stepfather started doing all sorts of things he’d neglected to do in the past. He went to the Isle of Man for the TT races. As I said he was a keen motorcyclist. He used to go the TT with his father but had not been since he was a child. He also went to Florida – his first time outside the UK as far as I know. He lived two years longer than the doctors had given him, eventually passing away at the ridiculously young age of 46. Sadly, he needed the realization that the end of his life was approaching to spur him on to do things he had probably always wanted to do. Impending death changed him many other ways too. On occasions he was nicer to my brother and I. He even started having the odd ‘medicinal’ drink – a half pint of Guinness. My advice to you is not to be like my stepfather. Live your dreams today. Let your mortality drive your life from now on. Begin everyday with the knowledge that we are only here for a finite time. Begin with the end in mind.
15. Habit 2 – begin with the end in mind http://feedproxy.google.com/~r... download (, 0.00Mb) Description: The essence of habit 2 is to use the image of the end of your life as your frame of reference for everything you do today. If you know where you are going – your final destination – you can determine the route from where you are now to get there. This is so you can manage yourself on a daily basis to reach that goal. Habit 2 helps you draw up the map of your life. All things are created twice Everything that is created in reality is created first in someone’s imagination. So to achieve what you want to in your life you have to imagine it first. Understanding this principle enlarges your Circle of influence. Not living in harmony with this principle reduces your Circle of influence. Design or default? Not all creations are created by conscious design. If we don not create our own life, others will create it for us. We are either the second creation of our own design or the second creation of somebody else’s. However, we all have within us the capacity to become the second creation of our own design. In other words: to write our own script. Leadership and management The first creation is leadership. The second creation is as a result of management. A leader gives direction. A manager organizes the resources to reach the destination. Effectiveness depends on expending energy in the right direction. Remember you are the leader of you. Becoming your own first creator Imagination and conscience help us to expand our proactivity and exercise personal leadership. With imagination we can visualize our goals. Conscience makes us aware of the universal laws or principles of life. Combining these two endowments with self-awareness will help us to write our own scripts. If you are new to this, it will involve you rescripting yourself. You will have to ditch some of the scripts handed to you. These could be deeply embedded scripts that don’t match the things you truly value in life. To begin with the end in mind means to become your own first creator. A personal mission statement Take some time to write a personal mission statement. This should become your personal philosophy and encompass the character traits you wish to have and the contributions you wish to make. These are the values on which your life can be based. You can use this mission statement as a basis for making both major and minor decisions in your life. It will give you strength during times of change. A mission statement is the core of your proactivity. Use it to set your short and long term goals. Use it to manage the use of your time, talents and energies. At the centre A personal mission statement begins at the centre of your Circle of influence. This is where you deal with your vision and values. Where you want to be (through the use of imagination) and what is important to you (derived from self-awareness and conscience). Working on this centre will expand your circle of influence. This is the source of your security, guidance, wisdom and power. These four factors are interdependent. Security Sense of worth Sense of identity Emotional anchorage Self esteem Personal strength Guidance Source of direction Map Internal frame of reference Standards or principles Wisdom Perspective on life Sense of balance Understanding of principles Judgments Discernment Comprehension Power Faculty to act Strength and potency to accomplish Capacity to overcome bad habits All four of these lie on a continuum. Their location and degree of harmony is a function of the paradigms that lie at your core. Alternative centres Everybody has a centre. This can be your spouse, family, money, work, possessions, community and more. Whichever centre you have, it will govern and control your life. Every decision you make will be dictated by your centre. Identifying your centre You can identify your centre by looking at your life support system. Where does your security, guidance, wisdom and power come from? Your wife? Your family? Your possessions? Pleasure? Most people’s centre is a combination of these and other centres. This causes them to bob around between the different centres in their lives. It means there is no consistency or clarity in their lives. The solution is to create one clear centre in your life. This will give you security, guidance, wisdom and power. A principled centre Centring our lives on principles creates a solid foundation for development of the four life-support factors. Our security comes from knowing that correct principles never change. Principle-centred living gives wisdom and guidance. This comes from living with correct maps. Not being affected by the actions and behaviours of others and changes in circumstances imparts power. Positive consequences flow from living in harmony with principles. Knowing them more increases personal freedom to act wisely. If you have principles at the centre of your life, your perspective is dramatically different to if you are focused on other things, e.g. money, pleasure, possessions, etc. As a principle-centred person you try to stand apart from the emotion of the situation. You look at a balanced whole and try to come up with the best course of action. You are not being acted upon by other people or circumstances. You decision is effective because it is based on principles with predictable long-term results. What you choose to do contributes to your ultimate values. Finally, you’ll feel comfortable about your decision. Writing and using a personal mission statement This is not something you write in a hurry. You need to look deep within yourself. It may take several weeks or months and require several rewrites. You mission statement becomes your constitution – an expression of your vision and values. It becomes the criterion by which you measure everything else in your life. Using your whole brain The two human endowments that power habit 2 – imagination and conscience – are functions of the right side of the brain. This area is more intuitive and creative than the left side. The left side is more logical / verbal. It deals with words, whereas the right deals with pictures. The left analyses things and dismantles them. The right puts them back together again. Most people tend to have one side of the brain that is more dominant. It would be best if we could switch back and forth between the two sides of our brain. Unfortunately, most people seem to process things using only their dominant side of the brain. Two ways to tap the right brain The stronger your right brain capacity, the better your ability to visualize what you want to do and be in life. Expand perspective Develop your right brain and expand your perspective through visualization. The most powerful way to do this is to visualize your own funeral. Get in touch with your legacy. What will the world you leave behind say about you? Also, try visualizing milestones in your life. If you are married, get together with your spouse and visualize your 25th and 50th wedding anniversaries. On your own you can visualize other milestones in your life like your fortieth, fiftieth, sixtieth birthdays and/or your retirement. How to visualize Set aside some time in a space where you know you won’t be disturbed and can safely ignore the outside world. Relax in a comfortable chair or lie down and close your eyes. Listen to your breathing, taking care to breathe in through your nose. Expand your stomach every time you breathe in, then breathe all the way out through your mouth. Repeat this several times. Now you should be in a relaxed state. Allow your mind to drift off into the future. Start to build up a picture in your mind of the event you want to visualise. See the colours, smell the smells and hear the sounds. Stay in this place for as long you as you can in your mind. Take note of what you see around you so that you can absorb every tiny detail. That is visualizing. Visualisation and affirmation Use your visualization to write an affirmation that helps you live out your values day to day. This affirmation should be positive, present tense, visual and emotional. Meditate on this affirmation daily. Repeat it to yourself whenever you get the opportunity. This will transfer it to your subconscious mind. Slowly your behaviour will change to become more in line with your values. Your creative, visual right brain is one of your most important assets – both in creating your personal mission statement and in integrating it into your life. Roles and goals The left brain is important for verbally capturing right brain images, feelings and pictures. Writing is a psycho-neural activity that bridges and melds the conscious and subconscious minds. Be careful when preparing your mission statement. Take into account all the roles you play in your life. In chasing money, there is no point in neglecting your personal health. Think about your professional, personal and community roles and try to bring them into harmony. This will give you balance. Preview your roles regularly to make sure no one role is dominant. Now you are ready to think about the goals you want to achieve in each of these roles. These goals should be your goals and reflect your deepest values, unique talent and sense of mission. Effective goals focus on results rather than activity. There should be some mechanism by which you know if you’ve achieved them and there should be a time limit within which to achieve them. Roles and goals give structure and organised direction to your personal mission. Group mission statements Both families and organizations can write mission statements. These work best when everybody is involved. Sit the family down and work out your family mission statement. Post the statement in a prominent place around the home for every body to see and refer to. Companies should consult all the employees – from top to bottom – when drawing up their mission statements. When everybody is involved and consulted, they feel they have ownership of the mission statement and are more likely to act upon it. Without involvement there is no commitment. Group mission statements create unity and empower individuals. Application suggestion Visualise your funeral. Think about what is said about you by your family, friends colleagues and the wider community Write down your roles as you see them Set aside time to begin work on your personal mission statement Work out where your centre is. Family? Money? Pleasure? Collect notes and quotes to help you write your mission statement Identify a project you will be facing in the near future and create it in your mind Share the principles of habit 2 and propose organizing group mission statements
16. Be Proactive http://feedproxy.google.com/~r... download (, 0.00Mb) Description: The essence of habit 1 – be proactive – is choose how to respond. It means you are responsible for your life. Your behaviour is a function of your decisions not the situation around you. Proactive people control their feelings. No matter what the weather, rain or shine, they carry their own weather with them. Proactive people are still affected by external stimuli – the weather, their upbringing, the economic situation – but they choose to respond in a way that is driven by their own values. To be proactive you must take the initiative. If you want a better job, you must work towards it and not wait for it to come to you. The difference between people who take the imitative and those who don’t is like the difference between night and day. Check your language. Are your verbal responses to situations reactive or proactive? Compare these two responses: “There’s nothing I can do” “Let’s look at our alternatives” The first statement is reactive. It says I am not responsible; I am not able to choose my response. The second statement is proactive. It says I am responsible; I am able to choose my response. And that response is to look at other alternatives. Circle of concern / Circle of influence This is an excellent way to develop awareness of our degree of proactivity. We all things in our lives that are of concern to us; the war in Iraq, the health of the company we work for, our health, our savings. We can place all these things and more inside our Circle of concern: Of those things mentioned above there are certain things we have influence over. That is certain things we can control. For example, our health and our savings. We can say they lie in our circle of influence. The other things, like the war in Iraq, we have no control or influence over. They just lie in our circle of concern. By determing which area we concentrate most of our energy on we can determine our level of proactivity. A truely proactive person works to expand their circle of influence - the things that they can influnece and control - as much as possible. They do this by focussing their energy on their circle of influence. Working on our circle of influence causes it to expand. Control The problems we face all fall into one of three areas: Direct control From our behaviour Indirect control From other people's behaviour No Control From past or situations We can solve our direct control problems by working on our habits. These fall within our circle of influence. We can give up smoking, take more training. Indirect control problems can be solved by working on our methods of influence. We can employ empathy, or example, in order to encourage people to change their behaviour towards us. As for our no control problems, we have to control our repsonse to them. We have to choose to smile and accept. They are outside our control, but can still be inside our circle of influence. Our influence lies in our repsonse. Changing our habits, changing our methods of influence and changing the way we see the world all lie within our circle of influence. Inside-out The proactive person realises that change comes from the inside and works out. They strive to change themselves in order to change the world around them. They try to be different. Suppose you have a friend who appears to be more successful than you. They have more things - a holiday home, a boat, etc. They have a better paid job. More friends and respect in the community. Worry about these things and being jealous or envious is focussing your energy on your cricle of concern. All of these things are out of your control and there is nothing you can do about them. If you desire the same things, then you must focus on your circle of influence. You should be more productive, improve your employment prospects, be more sociable, get involved in your community. That's the route to the job, the holiday home and the respect. Consequences and Mistakes We are free to choose our actions but the consequences of those actions are governed by natural law. Those consequences are outside our circle of influnece but are in our cirlce of concern. Living in harmony with our principles brings positive consequences. Sometimes our choices bring consequences we don't want. These consequences are called mistakes. Because mistakes happen to us, they are in our circle of concern. However, our repsonse to those mistakes is in our circle of influence. When a proactive person makes a mistake, they acknowledge it, correct it and learn from it. Our response to any mistake effects the quality of the next moment. Therefore, it is vital to immediately admit the mistake and correct it. Then they have no power over the next moment and we are empowered again. Commitments Honouring commitments is the clearest manifestation of our proactivity. These can be coomitments to others or ourselves. They can be promises or goals. If we make a commitment to ourselves to change our habits, how much we stick to that change is a measure of our proactivity. Making and honouring commitements is the essence of developing the basic habits of effectiveness. The Thirty Day Test For the next thirty days try to work solely on your Circle of influence. This means, be a light and not a judge, a model and not a critic, part of the solution or not part of the problem. Further Practice Listen to your language. Identify any reactive phrases you use, like: "He makes me so mad ...", "I can't ...". Remove them from your vocabulary. Replace them with more proactive pharases like: "I control my own feelings ...", "I choose ..." Summary Choose how to respond Expand your circle of influence Improve your habits, methods of influnce and responses Acknowledge mistakes, correct them and learn from them Honour commitments to yourself and others Take the thirty day test Add to: \| blinklist \| del.cio.us \| digg \| yahoo! \| furl \| rawsugar \| shadows \| netvouz
17. Greed often over reaches itself http://feedproxy.google.com/~r... download (, 0.00Mb) Description: Are you familiar with Aesop’s fable of ‘The Goose with the Golden Eggs’? For those of you who aren’t, I’ll briefly explain: One day a farmer noticed that his goose had laid a golden egg. He was so excited he ran into town to sell the egg. This happened for several days and the farmer grew richer and richer. As he grew rich he grew greedy; and thinking to get at once all the gold the Goose could give, he killed it and opened it only to find nothing. This fable is essentially about balance. It teaches that in order to have a steady stream of things (production) we want we must take care of the thing that produces them (production capability). To be truly effective there must be balance between production and production capability. Production is what you produce (golden eggs) and production capability is the ability to produce (the health of the goose). This balance can be applied to all three kinds of asset in your life: Physical Car Home Financial Savings Capacity to earn Human Family Friends Physical Assets Think about your car. Do you have it serviced regularly? Do you check the tyre pressure, oil level and radiator water on a regular basis? Doing this is taking care of the production capability of your car. It is looking after the health of the goose. The golden eggs this goose lays are the miles and miles of motoring you get from the car. Maintaining optimum tyre pressure and keeping the oil and water topped up to the right level will give you more and more golden eggs. Financial Assets Financial assets are ones that can bring you income. That means your savings and your capacity to earn. Keeping track or your savings and adding to them is taking care of the goose. Going on a training course to increase your skills is taking care of the goose. If you start spending your savings the golden eggs they lay in terms of returns will diminish in value. Similarly, if you work your body too hard and don’t get enough rest, you will be sick and unable to earn. Human Assets Now think about your loved ones. Your family and friends. They are geese that lay golden eggs. The golden eggs they lay are the help and assistance, the feeling of belonging they give you. You have to work on these relationships. Spend quality time with these people. This will strengthen the health of the goose and help it to lay more golden eggs for you in the future. To sum up. True effectiveness lies in balance. Spend your time just driving your car and not maintaining it and it will break down and wear out. Spend your savings and you deprive yourself of the interest derived from those savings. Neglect your family and friends and they won’t be there to help you.
18. Don’t delay. Act now http://feedproxy.google.com/~r... download (, 0.00Mb) Description: How many times have you had an idea for a business or service and not acted on it only to see somebody else set up something similar and it be a success? The difference between you and them is that they acted on the idea. While you were busy thinking about how to perfect the idea, they were up and running and correcting any mistakes as they went along. If you want to do something, you don’t have to wait until the moment is just right. It’s best to get the project up and running and then make any necessary adjustments. If you think about it too much, you’ll start coming up with ideas as to why it won’t work. In the meantime somebody else will be stealing your thunder and fixing problems as they go.
19. Ask for criticism not feedback http://feedproxy.google.com/~r... download (, 0.00Mb) Description: In the film ‘The Motorcycle Diaries’ Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara and his companion Alberto Ganado stay for a few days in Lima, Peru before going on to do their internship in a leper colony on the Amazon River. The doctor they stayed with gave them a copy of the manuscript for a novel he’d written. Upon departure for the leper colony, the doctor asked the two travelers what they thought of his book. Alberto looks somewhat embarrassed and says it was kind of interesting. ‘Che’, however, doesn’t hold back. He very politely tells the doctor it was rather boring, the plot was a bit predictable and the characters weren’t very well-developed. At first the doctor is somewhat hurt. Then he thanks the young Guevara and tells him that is the first honest appraisal he has received of his work. What do we learn from this story? Well if you’ve done some work and asked for feedback, most people will be like Alberto. That is they won’t give you an honest opinion. They will say it’s OK and avoid any criticism. People are rarely as direct as ‘Che’ was in this situation. So, when getting criticism, you need to encourage people to be more like ‘Che’. The best way to do that is to get them to tell you what’s wrong with the work. It will feel a bit painful at first- nobody likes being on the receiving end of criticism. However, it’s a good way of finding out what you need to do to improve you work. Receive the criticism genuinely. Avoid being defensive. Show your appreciation by following some of the advice. Finally, let the person know they have made a difference by giving you an honest opinion.