Motivation

Where does motivation come from?  We all have multiple things that motivate us from friends and family to our children.  Our motivating factors take all shapes and forms.  But where does the motivation really come from?  It comes from within yourself.

 

Think about it.  How can seeing a suffering children motivate you to help them?  There isn't some magnetic attraction caused by these children that motivates you or makes you move.  The initiation of all movement comes from within you.  This is a key factor to understand.  As you go through life and work towards your accomplishments, the only person that can really push you along is you.  I can hear people saying, "but my boss motivates me, if I don't perform I'll get fired."  Well the truth is, all your boss does is push certain buttons that bring thoughts into your mind.  In this case the thought of your boss firing you makes you perform but really the thought of the pain of losing the job is really what motivates you.  If you didn't need the job, what would be you motivator?

 

Understanding this key concept is very important in your success.  You also need to understand that the inner motivation is shaped by your values, beliefs, wants and goals.  If you look closely at your values and the things that motivate you, you will see a direct correlation between the two.  You will find that you are easily motivated to do things that align with your top values.  You will also find that the opposite is true as well, you will be less motivated to do things that don't align with your values. 

 

So next time you are having a hard time getting motivated to do something, review your values and the task at hand.  Associate one of your core values with the completion of the task.  If it doesn't fit any of your values then determine if it is something you really need to do.  If it is something you can't avoid then create a different road map that will associate the task to one of your core values.  Re-define the task into something that fits into your values.  For instance, say you need to finish a financial report for your boss by the end of the day and you can't get motivated because you really don't like financials and the work is boring.  Stop looking at the report as an exercise in financials find a different way to look at the work that fits you.  Maybe one of your core values is knowledge, so look at the report as an opportunity to showcase your breadth of knowledge to your boss.  I know this sounds a little fru-fru, but it works.  You have to learn how to make the changes in yourself to motivate yourself.

 

All motivation comes from you and the more you master your motivation the more you will succeed.

 

Cheers to Success!

Tony Booth

Keeping Values Fresh

As you go through life it's very easy to get caught up in the rat-race and lose track of things.  To stay on course you need to keep your values fresh and constantly in your mind.  This is a key factor in the Focusing on Success program.  The best way to keep your values fresh in your mind is to review them regularly and keep them posted where you can see them.

 

Having a clear understanding of your values helps you make clear and decisive decisions.  When you are faced with an important decision you can reflect on your values to help you make the right choice.  We all make mistakes and bad decisions but the biggest mistake is not making a decision or making a decision that you regret later.  If all your decisions are in line with your values then there is no reason for regret.  Sure, it might still be the wrong decision but you will maintain your integrity with your values. 

 

If your boss walks into your office at 5:00 pm and tells you that he needs your report by 8:00 am (a day earlier then planned) and that same night is your daughter's school play you now have an important decision to make.  Do you skip the play and work late to meet your bosses new deadline or do you tell you boss you have somewhere to be tonight and you will not be able to complete the report in time.  There is no easy answer here, but there are consequences.  If you tell your boss you can meet the deadline that might hurt your chances of promotion or even get you fired but on the other hand if you miss your daughter's play, she will be heart broken.  Both decisions are wrong with someone but only one decision is right for you.  You need to make a value based decision so that you can be sure you make the right decision for you.  If I was faced with this problem, the decision would be easy.  In my key values, my family ranks higher than my success.  I would tell my boss I cannot complete the report on time because of a family commitment.  This may not sit well with him but I would never second guess my decision.  It is the right decision for me.

 

So remember, review your values regularly and make decisions that fit you.  We are not living our lives for other people, we live them for ourselves.

 

Cheers to Success!

Tony Booth

Multi-Tasking

Are you a multi-tasker? Are you constantly doing 3 or 4 things at a time? If you are, stop wasting time.

We all have had our times when we would answer yes to all the questions above. If you still do then you need to review your actions and get control of your focus. It's a known fact that our brains function better when focusing on one task at a time. I can hear all the multi-taskers saying "oh no, I am better when I multi-task." Well you might be capable and successful at multi-tasking but you are not as efficient. Try this little test for yourself and see how you do. Take out a sheet of paper and at the top write column 1 and column 2. Get a stop watch to time this exercise. Now fill in column 1 with the letters 1 to 26 and column 2 with a through z. The first time you will write a number in column 1 and the corresponding letter in column 2 (1 - a, 2 - b, etc.). Write down the time it took you to complete this. Now the second time you will complete each column separately starting with column 1 then column 2 (1,2,3....a,b,c). Write down the time for this part. Now compare the two times. You will have completed the second exercise much quicker. This is just a part of how the mind works and is why you should avoid multi-tasking as much as possible.

In the Focusing on Success program we work on learning how to put all of our focus into the task at hand. When you start working on your Critical Tasks you need to block out all interruptions and focus only on the action item. Once you complete an action item you can take care of all the emails and phone calls that need to be answered. Then move on to the second task and do the same thing. Once you get the habit of doing this you will see how much easier it is to get those action items complete.

Cheers to Success!
Tony Booth

Keeping the Faith

We all have to learn to deal with setbacks. They are part of the process of achieving success. Without setbacks and failures you never really grow and to be truly successful we must constantly grow and expand.

So how do you handle the times when it seems like nothing is working right and you get the feeling you are heading down the wrong path. The best way to handle these times is to go back and review the work you did in the beginning.

Look back at your values, goals and mission. Remember why you want the successes that you want. Renew the spirit within you to go after the success you want. We all have an inner genius that is waiting to shine, just let it lose.

Take some time and review your plans and write down some new reasons why. It can be just re-wording the why you already have. This exercise will help you reinforce the reasons in your mind and renew your energy. The struggles you are facing are just there to make you stronger and better prepared for your success.

The best wines are produced from distressed grapes. Wine producers have learned over the years that they can produce the best wines from grapes that have been stressed and taken almost to the point of wilting on the vines. They regulate the water supply to their grapes to cause the grapes to endure the stress of the dry climate and force them undergo enormous amounts of stress on the vine so they can produce their best wines.

We are just like the grapes and the universe is applying the stress to us so we can produce a better product. We must undergo these challenges so we can reinforce what it is we want and why. So keep your chin up and keep working on the constant improvement that make us all successful.

Cheers to Success!
Tony Booth

Goals Take Time

In the Focusing on Success program, our goals play an important role in our success. We have written goals, a mission statement, and all the intentions of making those goals a reality. Now if you are like many people, you get all these things together and start working on them. You work at it diligently for weeks, months, even years and nothing seems to be happening. You start wondering why is this not working? Am I wasting my time?

While these thoughts are common, you have to learn to disregard them. If you are constantly wondering why you have not met your goals, you will receive just that, not meeting your goals. You have to keep in mind that the universe takes time and getting to a high level of success takes time. This doesn't mean it won't happen or you have the wrong goals, it just means you are not ready yet. Many times the universe is giving you the experiences you need to be able to handle the success you dream of. Realize this and you will understand why it takes time.

Take for example the many professional athletes that get out of school and jump into a career earning millions of dollars at an early age. We all know athletes can't perform at the professional level for a very long time, maybe 5 to 10 years. These instant millionaires have a level of success and riches that many dream about. But where are they 15 years later? Well, an alarming amount of them are flat broke with no plans for their future. Why? When they became so successful at a young age, they were not ready to handle the success and once they could no longer compete in their profession they reverted right back to the level of success they had without their sport.

Don't let this happen to you. Be patient, be consistent. Remember the constant incremental improvements. Build your success for the long term.

Cheers to Success!
Tony Booth

Setting your Mission

A mission is a very important element in your path to success. In order to get there, you need to know where you are going. This applies to virtually every aspect of life and your personal mission is no different. You will never become the success you dream of without some type of mission.

Everyone needs to develop a vision of what their mission in life is. This vision needs to be converted into your mission and you need to develop a mission statement. Just like successful corporations develop a mission statement so that employees know what they are focused on, so should you. This mission statement will provide you with support and guidance as you progress through life. Your mission statement should be reviewed each morning when you are working on your Current Focus and Critical Action Items. This will help to reinforce the why in everything you do.

When writing a mission statement don't worry about getting too detailed, save that for your goals. You should keep you statement brief and to the point. I recommend a one to two sentence statement that provides an overview of who you are and what you do. One way to think about it is "What would I like people to say about me when I am gone?" Your mission statement can be an "I am" statement or if you prefer it can be in the third person. The main point is to develop your mission and write it down. Below are some examples of personal mission statements.

"I am a successful business person, loving family member, and respected member of the community that is extremely energetic and active, always helping others and creating successful businesses."

"Tom is well-known in the community for all the help he gives to others, respected by his co-workers for all his success in the computer programming field. Tom enjoys time with his family in their 5 acre ranch."

How you structure you mission statement is not what's important here. It's the substance that's important. Let your mission statement be something that inspires you each morning. Let your dreams go wild and write it down. You deserve to be anything you want and do all the amazing things you can dream of.

Cheers to Success!
Tony Booth

Believe In Your Goals

As we discuss often here, in order to be successful, you have to have goals. Not only do you need to have goals, they need to be written out and reviewed on a regular basis. What are your goals? Are they written and posted somewhere that you can see them often?

One of the biggest mistakes that I often see people make when writing and developing their goals is not making them believable. When you develop your goals they must be something that you look at and say "I can do that." If not there will always be that voice in the back of your mind saying "Yeah, Right." If you are currently working a 40 hour a week job making $50,000 per year and you write down a goal to be making $500,000 per year next year it's will be hard for you to believe it. Each time you review your goal, you will be thinking, "there's no way I will do that." And what about all of this Law of Attraction stuff? Didn't the secret say all I need to do is believe and it will come to me? Well that's partially true, the universe will provide you with what you desire. However, if you just go through the motions of writing out a goal and deep down inside you don't believe it won't happen.

Now if your working in a job making $50,000 per year and one of your goals is to make $500,000, that's fine. The part that would be hard to believe is that you are going to accomplish this in one year. Also, it will be hard to believe if you don't have some type of plan to make it happen. Let's look at it this way, here is an example. Let's say this person currently works at a printing shop taking orders and running the presses earning $20 per hour.

Bad Goal: I will earn a salary of $200,000 dollars in 2010.
Now-in his current situation, he will have to work a lot of hours to earn that kind of money

Better Goal: I will open my own printing business and earn a $200,000 salary by 2015.

Now this goal is easier to believe, it allows time for the drastic increase in salary and also tells how. Using a goal like this, we can now break the goal down into several smaller steps like:

In 2010 I will work extra hours and spend additional time working at the print shop so that I can learn about the business and earn an extra $6,000 dollars to put towards starting my own print shop.
In 2011 I will use the money I saved to start a printing business on the side while still working in my full time job, allowing me to earn an additional $1,500 per month.
In 2012 I will use the money I saved to open my own print shop with first year's sales of $300,000.

And the process continues on with details each year about how to improve the business. I know this example is a little stretched, but I hope you get the point.

Make sure that you goals are believable. We would have never reached the moon if we didn't believe we could do it.

Cheers to Success!
Tony Booth

Understanding Your Values

As we have discussed several times, values are the underlying foundation on which we build. Our values control our minds which in turn controls everything else. In order to be successful, at least successful as we define it, you must clearly understand you core values and keep your wants and desires aligned with them.

So, today we are going to discuss just how you can understand that core values that make you tick. Today we are going to take some time and work through the following exercise to develop your core values.

We want to look at our values for each fundemental area of our lives. You will want to start with a clean sheet of paper or new page in your journal. At the top of the page write down the first area as listed below. Then under that heading, start writing all the things in that area that you value. Keep it to one or two word entries. Keep writing them down for five minutes for each heading. After you finish one area, writ ehte next heading and repeat the process.

Headings:

• Wealth
• Health
• Mind
• Relationships
• Spirituality

Once you have completed writing all your values for each heading it's time to start prioritizing them. To do that, take some time to review each entry under a heading and circle the three most important ones. Then prioritize each one by writing a 1,2, or 3 next to them. Complete this step for each area. Now, turn to a fresh page and write the number one. Under this heading write down each of the number one values from each of the five areas. Now take the next 20 minutes to review the five number one values and prioritize them. Re-write these values in order. These are your key values.

Now that you have your core values, start working on the remaining values. Write out all the number two values and prioritize them then repeat with number three. List these out in order. These are your secondary values.

Now you have taken the first step in understanding and realizing your values. I recommend writing or typing these out neatly so that you can keep them handy to review on a regular basis. I have mine written on the second page of my journal so that I can reveiw them weekly.

If you need some help with this exercise, there is a great template at www.morningcoach.com. Get some help if you need adn while you are there check out some of the other great things they have to offer.

Cheers to Success!

Tony Booth

What is Focusing on Success

We all know that it is no secret that if you want to be successful at anything, you must have goals. Corporations provide them for employees, coaches provide them for their teams, and parents provide them for their kids. We all have them in various forms. Some have them written in detail and others just have them in their head. Well no matter what you goals are, the only way to reach them is by taking steps towards making them a reality. Focusing on Success is a system for helping people take those steps.

If we all have these goals, we does it often seem so hard to make them a reality? Why do we always put off doing the things we know we need to do? We try all the different time management techniques and systems but they just don't seem to work.

The main problem with all these systems and ideas is ourselves. Our own mind will work against us if we do not take the proper steps. If your goals are not aligned with your values you will always be finding reasons why something doesn't need to be done. When you are not truly clear on why you need to do something you will find yourself procrastinating and avoiding the task.

Focusing on Success is a process to clear all those things in your mind that are holding you back. The first step of the process is to truly understand your values. Then make sure that your goals are in agreement with those values. After your goals are clear, we determine and understand why these goals are important. Once you understand the why, it's time to start taking those small steps everyday that moves you closer to your goals. The FOS process provides insight into ways that these actions become second nature and easy to complete.

Imagine waking every morning beaming with excitement about the day ahead and charged to get started on your daily Critical Action Items. It is exhilarating and what's even better is in the evening when you sit and reflect on all that you accomplished during your day.

Follow my blog and you will get the details on how to make this system work for you. Once you do, you will be amazed at how easy it is to get things done. You will be able to have and achieve anything you ever wanted.

Cheers to Success!
Tony Booth

What is Success?

When thinking about success many of us fall into the trap of thinking that success only applies to wealth and fame. We often define success as earning a huge salary, a prestigious career, fancy cars, or fame. This is a horrible trap to fall into. When you look at success this way it is easy for your mind to say "I don't need to be successful to be happy, look those successful people aren't always happy anyway, so why bother."

In the Focusing on Success program we use a much broader approach to success. We define success as:

Success - achieving the desired outcome of our values, intentions, and actions.

By looking at success in broader terms we can apply the definition of success to anything that we desire. In the Focusing on Success program we concentrate on success in five areas; wealth, health, relationships, mind, and spirituality. However, you can apply the program to virtually any aspect of of your life and anything you want to accomplish.

So keep in mind you can use this program for anything from improving your golf score to finding the perfect companion. Just follow the process as they pertain to each thing that you are trying to achieve and you will be successful.

Using the program to improve you health would work something like this;

First, review and set your values as they relate to health. In this respect some of your key values may be health, energy, physical fitness, or appearance.

Next determine your targets/goals. They might look like; "In January I wear a size 4 dress, have the energy to play with my children at night, and provide my body with healthy nourishment."

Now that you have your goals you can assign the whys like; I feel more confident in a size 4, I want to develop strong bonds with my children, and I want to help my body stay healthy.

With the Whys in place, it's time to move on to the intentions. For a healthier you, your intentions may be; I will exercise 5 times per week, I will limit my intake of processed foods, I will take a multi-vitamin daily.

Now each day as you review your intentions and set your action items you will have a clear and compelling reason to eat a salad for lunch or take a walk in the morning. It will be easy to accomplish and since you completely understand, you will be less likely to skip that necessary actions.

So find something today that you have been wanting to improve on and give it a try. I look forward to hearing about your successes.

Cheers to Success!

Tony Booth

Actions are Key

In order to accomplish anything at all you must take action. Without actions you are not moving forward. If you go through each day without a plan you will find yourself wandering through life aimlessly. Sure, you may accomplish a lot of the things you want to and you may be very successful. But if you want to be super successful and accomplish all the things you deserve, you must have a plan and you must take action. In the Focusing on Success program, we take action everyday. We work at constant improvement and movement towards our goals on a daily basis. How do we do that? Through our daily Critical Action Items.

Every day (or the night before) you need to sit down and review what you would like to accomplish today. As you do this, you pick out 5 to 10 Critical Action Items that you need to complete in order to move closer to your intentions. Write each item down in order that you want to complete them and when you start your day, start with number one. Provide your complete and undivided attention to that particular task and do not move on until it is completed. Avoid interruptions like emails, phone calls, etc. while you are working on a task. Those things can wait. Use the time between your action items to follow up with important emails and phone calls. By avoiding all the distractions you will complete each task efficiently and quickly. It's amazing how much you can accomplish in a day when you are truely focused.

For writing out you action items, I recommend using an index card or something similar to write these items on so that you can carry it with you throughout the day and refer to it as necessary.

As many of you know, this concept is not new or revolutionary by any means. This has been around and has been taught for years. The difference we bring to this process with the Focusing on Success program is the full circle of values, targets, why, intentions, and actions. If you follow the program your actions will have a much deeper seeded meaning and you will have a greater desire to complete them. As I mention in the previous post, before writing out you Critical Action Items, you must first write out you Current Focus (intentions). By following this process you will more clearly understand what it is that each action will accomplish and how it will affect you overall goals. This helps to provide you with the compelling reasons why you want to complete each action. When you know why and understand the big picture it is easy to avoid procrastination and get things accomplished.

Start making your plan and completing you action items with ease. We can all accomplish anything we set out to do. There is nothing stopping you except yourself. Now, go out and take the actions to move closer to your goals everyday.

Cheers to Success!

Tony Booth

Behind Every Action Lies Intention

I remember the days when I was in grade school and I would do something to disrupt the class and the teacher would always ask me "Tony, what were you intending to accomplish by interrupting the class?" Of course my answer was, I didn't have any intention, I just wanted to say something funny." This misunderstanding of my actions went on for years and I never really understood what the teacher meant by her questions. I always thought, I didn't have any intention rooted behind my actions. Well, was I wrong. I have now come to realize that every single action we take is born from some seed of intention that we plant. Some times those intentions are valiant and well meant, other times they can just be our ego trying to get attention.

The lesson I learned in all this is that in order to control our actions we must first understand our intentions. No matter how diligent we become at writing out our to-do list of critical actions, we will never completely follow through with them and complete them with ease if we don't first realize what each action is intended to accomplish. Let's look at the following example.

My Action Items for Tuesday:

1. Call Jack at YZX Company to let him know his shipment of new product has been delayed.

That action, by itself doesn't seem like something I want to do. I will probably find several reasons to avoid making this phone call. I will probably put this action off for a couple of days and when I finally get around to it, I will probably say to myself, I'll just email him so I don't have to hear him get upset with me. When Jack finally finds out that his order is delayed he will probably not be very happy. That fact will not change by waiting and by not talking with him directly he doesn't understand my disappointment in the delay.

Now let's look at this through the Focusing on Success method. Before you start to write your daily action items, you would review your intentions. So looking at the above example you might have an intention like:

• Develop and nurture client relationships through prompt and honest communications.

When you read this intention before writing your actions can you see how easy that action now becomes? Since my intention is to develop my relationship and provide open communication I will want to call Jack as quickly as possible. Even though I know he will be upset about the delay I know he will respect my honesty and that is my intention.

Putting this concept to work in your daily routine is an easy process. Each morning or evening when you sit down to plan you day, take the time to first write out your current intentions. The best way that I have found to do this is to use an index card. The first thing you want to do is on one side write out your Current Focus (intentions). This might be 3 or 4 of the main things you want to accomplish. After you have completed writing your intentions, turn the card over and start working on your critical action items. With you intentions fresh in your mind, you will understand the intention behind each action item. Also, keep in mind, if you write out an action item and it doesn't fit your intentions then it doesn't belong on your Critical Action Items list. Give this method a try and you will be amazed at how easy it is to complete your action items.

Cheers to Success

Tony Booth

Remember Why

To really benefit from the Focusing on Success program you need to remember the why. In my previous post I talked about targets/goals and reviewing them daily. This is the first step in remembering why you are taking the actions you are taking.

To start with you need to make the Why as big as you can dream. If you set your intentions and understand why you want to accomplish them it will help you along the way in completing your tasks. I find it works best when I develop my ling term vision and that becomes the 20,000 foot why. As I set out each day and list my critical tasks, they are all associated with my vision. By making all my tasks directly relevant to my vision I am constantly reminded of why I am doing each task. When you understand why you need to do something it is much easy to do it.

The best way to develop your Why is to start with a long term vision of what it is you want to accomplish. After visualizing your dream, think about why you want that particular dream; what will you get out of it; how will it make you feel; what will be your enjoyment? Brainstorm on the reasons why and write down 3 or more along side the vision. This will reinforce your commitment to that particular goal. Now that you have you long term vision, start writing down what you need to accomplish along the way to achieving the goal. Next to each step write down the why this step is important and what it means to the overall goal. If you find that a step doesn't have a why then remove that step. Only focus on tasks that have a why and provide positive movement towards your goal. Now that you have you overall goal and the steps to getting there along with the Whys you are ready to work on your critical tasks. As you are preparing your daily critical tasks you can refer to you steps and goals and the whys of each. This builds a sense of purpose into the task and taht sense of prupose is what drives you to complete the task.

Let's look at the following example:
First start with you goal, write it out then below the goal write the reaasons why.
Long Term Goal: Intergrate the new software program system at work in 3 months
Why;

• I will feel a sense of accomplishment for completing the project 1 month early
• My team will be freed up to start on the database upgrades
• The new software will make everyones work easier
• My team will receive a hefty bonus

Now, break the overall goal into the steps that will be needed to acheive the goal, then add the why.

1. Get software from vendor by Friday - This will allow us to start installation on Saturday
2. Migrate servers over next 30 days - This will allow new system to be ready 6 weeks early
3. Schedule overtime for testing - This will cut the tesing time by 2 weeks allowing us to finish 4 weeks early

Now that you have your steps written out and you know why they are important your individual tasks will have more relevancy. So on day 1 when your first critical task is to verify the delivery date of the software you will completely understand why this is so important.

This is a simplified example, but I hope you can see the difference that understanding the Why can make in your completion of tasks. And let's face, if you are going to be successful at anything at all you have to take action. So the more you understand why you are taking an action the more you will be willing to do it. For the most part, we all know what it is we need to do, it's just actually doing it that presents a problem. Remember, the big shot is just a little shot that kept shooting and if you know why, you will keep shooting.

Cheers to Success,

Tony Booth

Where am I going?

For years I made the same mistakes as many others when it came to my goals. I always knew what I wanted to achieve and how I wanted my life to turn out. I always thought, why do I need to write these things down? That's just taking time away from getting what I want and they are always on my mind. I don't need them listed out to know what I want.

Wow, was I mistaken. Now, I always considered myself to be successful and by definition many would agree. I had my well paying job, lived in a nice house, drove nice cars, and all the other things that many use to define success. What I didn't realize all those years was without my goals written down, they took much longer and a lot more work to reach. The problem was without them written and clear I was losing focus and getting sidetracked way too often.

To get where you want to go you must define that destination. You need to take the time to write your targets down in detail and with time lines and clear definitions. About a year ago I started the practice of clearly defining SMART goals and writing them down. Every morning I sit with my journal and write out my targets and review what I want to achieve. By doing this first thing every morning I find it very easy to get my daily tasks done. Since I know my targets and they are fresh in my mind I know exactly why I am doing each task on my list and the outcome I expect to achieve.

Each day you must take the time to review your goals and understand what it is you want to achieve. Keep these goals in your mind throughout the day and it will help to keep you focused. With the complete understanding of why you are doing what you have to do and the rewards you will find it easy to start getting things complete. You will be compelled to complete each and every task and you will approach them with great excitement. Try writing your goals daily in a journal before compiling your list of critical tasks. Then when writing your critical tasks indicate how they affect your goals. You will be amazed at how excited you will be to work on them.

Cheers to Success
Tony Booth

Why Values Matter

There are mountains of advice out there on how to manage your time and focus better. The ideas run from simple lists to elaborate calendars and note pads. All these programs tell you the steps to take to take control of your time and focus. So with all these tools available why do people still find themselves short on time and procrastinating? Why do we have list after list of uncompleted items? The missing key in all these programs is the understanding of your values.

No matter how good your system is you will still find yourself putting things off or skipping them if you don't have a clear understanding of your values. Our deep seated values are what makes us move. Everyone always acts in their own perceived best interest, including you. So as you are looking at the things that you know you need to do to be successful but find yourself always finding a reason not to do them, you need to look at your key values and how you define them. Value conflicts cause infinite problems in the normal time management schemes.

When I was working in my corporate job, I loved my job and wanted to move up the ladder. My goals were to be in a senior management position and be a respected leader. Great goals, certainly within my capabilities and reach. I knew what I had to do to achieve my goals and I would lay it all out and put together the plan. As many know, the way to the top in a large corporate structure is to work hard and out-shine those around you. So I would lay out my plan and start working at it. As time went on, I would find myself slacking off on my plan and not following through. Time and time again, I would procrastinate and not give it my all. Not knowing exactly why, I would end up telling myself, "oh you are just better suited to be a follower, not a leader." Finally, one day, I said "that's not true, you are a great leader. There is something deeper holding you back." So I started looking at my core values. Obviously success was one of my top goals. One of my other top goals was family. So after digging deeper into my values I found that in order for me to be successful in my current world I would need to put in 70 to 80 hours per week at work. This meant that I would have limited time for my family and I would not get to spend enough time with them. So deep down inside me I was purposely sabotaging my efforts to become successful in order to protect my family values. Can you see how this value conflict would wreak havoc on my efforts? My definition of success required countless hours away from my family which was in direct conflict with another of my core values.

After realizing my conflict, I knew I had to make some changes. I reviewed my values and their definitions and determined the correct course for me to have all the success I wanted. Notice, I didn't say, "well I guess you can't have it all." I knew better, I knew there had to be a way to have it all. Other people have it all and so should I. So I re-wrote my definition of success and eliminated the conflict. Now completing things related to my success are easy and I am excited to do them. It just took some understanding of my desires and some changes in my definitions.

With this little change, I now find it easy to keep moving forward. Here is my previous definition and my new definition of one of my core values, Success.

Old:
Success = Hold a senior management position in a large corporation; receive a six figure salary; be a respected leader; and work hard to get my rewards.

New:
Success = Have a career that allows me the flexibility and freedom to spend time enjoying life and family; earn enough income to do and have the things I want (which is currently 3X what I had expected before); serve a greater purpose.

With that simple change I now start each day excited about what I want to accomplish and do. My days flow easily from task to task and I can't wait to get on to the next step.

So, when you find yourself stuck and not getting things complete, take some time to look at your values and find those conflicts. I will talk more about how to accomplish in future posts. Until then.

Cheers to Success
Tony Booth

Focusing on Success

In the current world of instant information and constant interruptions we often find it hard to get things accomplished. If you are following the Focusing on Success program, you are writing down your daily action items and starting your day working on #1 and moving through the list. The problem comes when there are interruptions, phone calls, urgent emails, daily tasks, and all the plethora of distractions that fill your day and you lose your focus. How do you keep on track?

The best way to keep things on track is to focus on each task, one at a time and avoid all interruptions. I know, this is easier said than done. However, if you follow the process through, you will know when to allow interruptions and when to avoid them. The key is to understand how this interruption fits into the grand scheme of things and if you should allow it.

When you are working on an action item you should avoid checking email, answering phones, or allowing interruptions. As we all know, some things will be unavoidable but if you follow some simple steps these can all be managed. There are some great interruption management techniques in the book The 4-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss. Below are some ways to manage some of the most common interruptions:

Email:

• Turn off new email notifications so you don't check constantly
• Set specific times to handle email, maybe twice a day; scan for important items more frequently (don't want the boss mad at you)
• If you get an important email decide what actions need to happen immediately and what can wait.

Phone Calls:

• My best advice - let the call go to voicemail
• When a call comes in that you must answer, keep it short

In-Person Interruptions

• If someone drops by unexpected, take a few seconds to explain you are busy and suggest a time for them to stop back
• Close the office door - I know it's not good with the "open door" policy but it's more effective - just set times for open doors

Media / News

• Unless your job requires it, avoid it

Daily Tasks

• Block out certain periods of time to complete your tasks
• Set the time based on completion of certain action items - after I complete this post, I will run to the cleaners to pick up my clothes

There are many ways to help deal with the constant interruptions that we are faced with and we will discuss many more in future posts.

The point to remember here is, once you have followed the processes in Focusing on Success, you will have a clear understanding of what interruptions you will let knock you off track. Obviously, there will be many interruptions that require your immediate attention. The secret is knowing which ones they are and which ones to let go. When you have your focused dialed in, these decisions will be second nature.

Oh, I almost forgot the most important lesson. DO NOT MULTI-TASK. PERIOD.

Cheers to Success!
Tony

Manage Actions

Now we are in the daily planning portion of Focusing on Success. This is the area of the program that deals with your day to day actions. Each morning you wake up with a clean slate and you need to determine what actions you will take today. This is your to-do list. To achieve a high level of success you need to continually work at your goals making them a step closer every day.

The best process I have found to make the daily improvements is writing out my daily actions each morning. Every morning I sit down with my list of goals and intentions and write out my actions that I will take that day. I limit this to no more than 6 to 10 action items. These actions should fit into my intentions. For instance, if one of my intentions is to work on a marathon training routine, my action for the day might be to run 10 miles.

As you plan your actions remember that these action steps should not include things like get gas, pick up the kids after school. Those are daily tasks and are not associated with your success plan. For these items I keep a totally separate list of tasks that I need to accomplish.

If you have followed the process and completed the prerequisite portions, your action items will become second nature and easy to follow. Now that you have a clear set of goals and a reason why you will be able to set you daily action items with ease and have a strong commitment to get them accomplished. When following the processes through, your daily actions are set on autopilot. Now that you have your action items defined you can move into the meat of the program, Focusing. Once you set out to complete your action items, focus on each item one at a time. Provide your undivided attention to that action until it is complete. Once you complete the first one, move on to the next. In future posts, we will discuss just how to fine tune and control your focus. For now, get out there every day and work towards achieving your goals. Get that 1% improvement every day and you will be amazed at how successful you are.

Cheers to Success!
Tony

Set Intentions

Now that you have your goals set and you know why you want to achieve them it’s time to start figuring out how you are going to achieve them. This how will become your intentions and will be your guide to setting you actions. While setting you intentions you need to look at each goal and determine what it is you intend to do to bring about the realization of that goal. This is the “how” part of your goals.

If your goal is to run the New York marathon you will need to sit down and determine how you will prepare to achieve this goal. You intentions may be;
· I will start working on a marathon training routine
· I will eat healthy and take care of my body
· I will perfect my running techniques
· I will increase my strength and endurance levels
These intentions will now become the frame work for guiding your actions. As you develop your intentions, it helps to add action steps to help guide you in the future. In the example above under the marathon training routine you might add;

I will start working on a marathon training routine

• I will run 5 days per week
• 3 times per week I will increase my overall distance by 5%
• 2 times per week I will run at various paces to build my stamina

As you determine your actions each day you will review them against you intentions to avoid any conflicts. When you have defined you intentions you will take actions daily that fit within your intentions.

Take some time to review each of your goals and develop you list of intentions. Depending on the goal, this list could be one or two intentions or could be a long list of sequential intentions. These are like small mini goals that you will do on a regular basis. So today, set out your intentions and start to make you dreams a reality.

Cheers to Success!
Tony

PS: My examples of a marathon training routine have no foundation and are not intended to provide any guidance on running a marathon. I have a hard enough time running to the mailbox.

Develop the Why

Have you ever wondered why your dreams always seem to be out of reach and no matter how hard you work you never seem to reach them? The problem could be the “Why”. A common mistake made by many hard working people is setting goals and visualizing their successes without ever setting the “Why”.

For instance, you might set a goal to earn $200,000 per year. You can set your goals up with the proper action steps and follow all the best practices but you goal will always be out of reach without a “why”. You need to set the reason why you want to earn $200,000 per year. What will that income provide you, what will you do with the money, why should the universe provide you with that income?

By defining the “why” we want to obtain certain goals we give the goals real meaning. This is what changes dreams into goals. Any goal set without a why remains a dream, a target that you really will not reach for. When you know the reasons for obtaining a goal you will be committed to seeing that through and taking the necessary steps to make it a reality.

So as you review what it is you want to accomplish be sure to incorporate the reasons why you want to accomplish it. Take some time to determine why you want to achieve the things you want to achieve. Take time now to go back to the targets that you set and develop the “WHY”.

Cheers to Success!
Tony

Define Targets

Now that you have spent some time to determine you true values you can move on to defining your success targets. The next step to Focusing on Success is setting your goals/targets. In this step you need to clearly define what it is you would like to achieve. Take some time to sit down and dream about you success. Visualize into the future and determine what it is you would like to achieve and start writing down your goals. Remember to be sure and write SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely).
· Specific: Be sure the goals you write are specific. Your goal should not read “I want to live in a large house”, it need to be specific like “I want to live in a 2,500SF home set on 5 acres of property.”
· Measurable: Make sure the goal is measureable. Similar to the example above, the 2,500SF now becomes the measuring stick by which you will compare your results.
· Attainable: Make sure that your goals are something that is reachable. For instance, if you are a 5’-6” tall, 40 year old male and you set a goal to become the starting center for the New York Knicks; that is an un-attainable goal. That doesn’t mean that you should not set a goal to be part of the New York Knicks franchise, it just means you need to set your goal for a different affiliation. You might determine that you want to be a talent scout for the New York Knicks.
· Realistic: You goal must be realistic. That can mean many different things depending on your goal and your current situation. The main thing to keep in mind here is, is you goal believable? Do you truly believe you can accomplish this goal?
· Timely: When setting your goals you will always need to set a timeline for reaching those goals. The timing can range from days to years, but you need to have a timeframe. Keep things in the relative near future for best results. I recommend having long term goals (5-10years) as broad objectives and more detailed goals set in 90 day time frames. These short-term goals can be sub-goals of your long term goals.

The goals you set are what will guide your actions in the future so don’t take this step lightly. The goal setting process is a must if you want to achieve a high level of success. Now, go have some fun, dream big, and write out some amazing goals.

Cheers to Success!
Tony

Determine Values

“A structure is only as good as the foundation upon which it is built.”

The first key to focusing on success is to properly determine and set your values. The deep seated values that we hold have a profound effect on our actions. Our subconscious mind holds our values as truths and will use those values to steer our actions. Have you ever had something that you decided you needed to do but always found yourself putting it off or avoiding it? Chances are there was an underlying value conflict with the action or the potential outcome.

In order for the Focusing on Success system to work efficiently we need to dig in and define our values. Take some time to review your values and make a list of all your values. It is best to start with a blank sheet of paper and write down 20 values that are important to you. After you have your list of 20, take some time to think about them and meditate on them. Really get a feel for which ones mean the most to you and consolidate the list to 5 primary values and 5 secondary values. I recommend putting these 10 values into a chart or on an index card so that you can refer to them often. Future posts will have more information on setting and monitoring values along with some useful tools to help you. The more you are aware of your values, the easier it will be to focus on the things that will make you successful. You should review your values daily for the first week to commit them to memory and after that refer to them at least twice a week.

Take the time this week to get you values in order and work on them. This will build the foundation on which the rest of the Focusing on Success program will work. With our values in place and clearly understood it will be easy to develop your why and keep your focus.

Cheers to Success!
Tony

Focusing on Success

Focusing on Success is a process that anyone can use to gain more success in any part of their life. We all spend countless hours working on what we want out of life and trying to get where it is we want to go. Most of the time we feel like we are on a treadmill, working hard but getting nowhere. We use multiple techniques to help us get more things accomplished and have more free time only to find we are still on the treadmill. When does it all end? How can you get off the treadmill? It's easier then many believe. You don't have to be superhuman to accomplish great things. It just takes some focus management.

Focusing on success is about the process of focus management. By getting your focus zeroed in, you can eliminate wasted time and stress the overcomes your days. When you have your focus dialed in, you no longer need all those gadgets to help you plan your time and success efforts.

The process involves 6 simple yet complex steps. Many have heard the virtues of each of these steps before but very few practice them. You can bet, the uber-successful people we all read about practice these principles in some form or another. Ask Donald Trump or Sir Richard Bronson and you can be sure they have a defined plan and take action every day to accomplish that plan. That is really all we are talking about here.

Focusing on success breaks down into these 6 steps; Determine Values, Define Tragets, Develop the Why, Set Intentions, Manage Actions, and Focusing on Success. Each of these steps must be followed in order to get your mindset right for focusing on success. The steps build upon each other to get you in the proper frame of mind that allows you to work effortlessly in achieving all your life long desires.

Don't believe all those things you've heard in the past about how success is hard and riches are reserved for the few. Follow me through this journey to learn how you can change your focus and change your world. The possibilities are endless and results are easy.

Cheers to Success
Tony