HOW TO FINISH UP "2010" STRONG

The final weeks are upon us for 2010, and many people are left wondering how much of a shift for improvement they made over 2009. Here are just a few questions you can ask yourself in order to gauge your response…

* Was 2010 the year you broke through major barriers that previously held you back?
* Was this the year you focused on major self-improvement?
* Did your business do better this year (performance, revenue, growth, etc) over last year?

For some people, 2010 has been a struggle and trying time. For others, this has been the year of their life! So how about you?

With the last several weeks upon us, how are you going to finish out 2010? Most distance runners or relay runners will tell you it’s not how you start, but how you finish. You can have an average or weak start, but if you’re persistent and consistent and keep your total focus on the finish line – you will finish strong!

The same is in business.

If your goal is to become a better “you”, or to make significant improvements to your business over last year, the real truth will be told in how you finish. It takes a person of real perseverance, diligence and tenacity to see things through to completion – especially when coming from a rough start!

Anyone can start off strong, or begin with good intentions in mind. But how you finish is a real testament.

So if you have a strong desire to finish 2010 in memorable fashion, here are some helpful suggestions that have worked for me. These 7 steps will work wonders for you whether your desire is for personal or professional results.

1. Finish Strong Personally or Professionally
2. Decide what you’re willing to give up in order to get it
3. Determine at least 3 actionable steps to do daily or weekly to make it happen
4. Write down that goal and those steps and make it easily viewable
5. Get assistance from someone who can direct, give insight and provide accountability
6. Work your plan
7. Enjoy the benefits of personal success and the fulfillment that comes with it

It’s going to be work, and it’s probably going to be hard. But welcome to the club! Those who want to move from where they are to where they want to be, receive the benefits and rewards that many others will never fully see or enjoy. Finishing strong is about understanding the personal power and unique abilities available within you (sometimes it takes someone committed to you – to help bring it out of you!). You are able to accomplish and achieve to the level that you believe that you can, for better or worse, so use that to your advantage.

Plus, when you finish out 2010 strong you are well positioned to achieve the goals or “New Year’s Resolutions” for 2011. While others are stopping to figure out what they want, and how they’re going to do it (setting resolutions), you’re on the fast-track with momentum behind you to accomplish more and faster!

If you can ever make any kind of investment, your #1 most important return needs to be on you. So decide today to make YOU better, since that affects everything else – your family, business, career, relationships, etc. When you decide to make a strong finish to this year by accomplishing the goals you set out to do earlier in the year, you make a difference to yourself and to those around you.

Let us focus and set our eyes on the finishing line with a great zeal that would position us on a good path come 2011.

God Bless.

WHAT DO YOU STAND FOR?

Someone once said that "if you don’t stand for something, you'll DO just about anything." My hero, Jim Rohn, once said that the foundation for having a successful life is having a personal philosophy. I agree with both of those assertions. Having "rules of the road" for our lives can help us to determine our boundaries and draw "lines-in-the-sand" when and where they are appropriate. We've all known people who live with no "center" or boundaries. They may seem carefree on the surface, but as the late John Gardner said: "We are worriers and puzzlers and we want meaning in our lives. I'm not speaking idealistically; I'm stating a plainly observable fact about men and women. It's a rare person who can go through life like a homeless alley cat, living from day to day, taking its pleasures where it can and dying unnoticed." Which kind of person do you want to be?

Several years ago when I was going through a rough period in my life, I documented my own governing beliefs. I did this by examining my actions and then:

• In areas I was achieving satisfaction, I documented those successes and identified, in writing, the beliefs that informed them.

• In areas in which I was either performing badly or behaving poorly, I identified the categories and reasons. I then documented aspirations in those areas. Now …

Each week I conduct a post-mortem on my actions. I compare them to my beliefs, identify where I am going astray, and resolve to do better.

Doing this has improved my life.

Today, when I examine my beliefs weekly, I occasionally change one. I NEVER do that, however, to accommodate my failures or shortcomings. I only do it if I believe that I am constraining my own growth.

What follows is a MUCH abridged version of my governing beliefs as they stand today:

• I believe that I own my life, and that I am totally and completely responsible for my actions and accountable for my results.

• I believe that personal growth is our primary, lifelong mission.

• I believe strongly in self-management and course correction. Wisdom is NOT an automatic by-product of experience. Here's the formula: Wisdom = experience x reflection x relentless honesty x accountability (accepting consequences with no blame, no finger-pointing, no excuses, no whining, no escape-hatch) x behavioral change. Each of these elements is necessary, but alone, each is insufficient; it takes them all.

• Our natural tendency – one that we must reject – is to associate with people who affirm who we already are, rather than those who inspire us to reach higher and do better. I believe that in order to grow, we must surround ourselves with the kind of people we WANT to be, rather than those who mirror our own character defects! We must also discard naysayers, doomsayers and dream-slayers. If we want to grow, they have to go!

• I believe in acceptance (giving in to reality). I DO NOT believe in resignation (giving up on possibility).

• I believe in under-commitment and over-delivery, not the other way around, and that character is both forged and revealed by commitments we make and keep.

• I believe in relentlessly searching for THE truth, and that an absolute requirement for success is our ability and inclination to differentiate from among "OUR truth," "OTHERS' truth," and "THE truth."

• I believe in the priority of creating a meaningful life, and that each person must define "meaning" for him or her self.

• I believe in the virtues of integrity, honesty, courage and valor, accountability for my actions, perseverance and (especially) loyalty.

• I believe that without discipline, aspiration is hallucination.

• I believe that it's never too late to find happiness, and that it's worth a high price. One of life’s biggest challenges – maybe THE biggest – is figuring out which bridges to cross and which ones to burn in an effort to accomplish that, without doing too much damage to ourselves or others along the way.

• I believe this is the formula that many people employ to justify their dysfunctional behavior:

Doing the wrong thing and a good excuse or rationalization = doing the right thing.

Instead of the aforementioned, I believe that when we feel discomfort from dissonance, we must use it to change rather than rationalize our behavior! Discomfort should instigate action and growth, not provoke inertia or excuses. Personal responsibility must always trump comfort or convenience.

I have failed myself, many times, when measured against my own beliefs. Instead of making excuses, the question I regularly ask myself is this: "When I fail, do I commit to DO better and to BE better?"

I absolutely guarantee you that if you take the time to do this exercise you will be a better person tomorrow (not perfect, but better) than you are today.

It's worth it!

7 KEYS TO BEING A BRILLIANT LEADER

Many people think that leaders are born, not made and that if they aren’t officially a Manager, Director, Executive Directory, Vice President, President or CEO, that they are really a leader.

I beg to differ. Leadership is a set of specific behaviors that can be learned.

Here are seven keys I believe are critical to transforming ordinary people into extraordinary leaders.

1. Evoke the emotions of others: True leaders inspire people. They touch their hearts on issues that are important to them. They raise hope while acknowledging and accepting the human frailties we all possess. Leaders make people connect the change they are striving to cause to their own needs and desires.
2. Believe in people : It’s hard for us to see skeptics or critical, negative people as leaders because they don’t do anything proactive to make us feel good about ourselves. On the other hand, leaders see the rough diamonds buried in our hearts and bring them to light so that WE can see them too.
3. Have a compelling vision and be passionate in expressing it : Great leaders see a future that is dramatically different than the present we live in and they don’t keep it a secret. They articulate that future and tell us WHY it’s important that we move toward it. They know they are on the right track even when the rest of the world is still asleep to or in denial about the problem.
4. Never give up but stay flexible : Leaders with big visions are often seen as crack pots or zealots before the masses catch on to the importance of their platform. Expect to encounter some resistance at the beginning, but don’t give up on what you believe in. Do however, stay present to new developments and trends and what’s on the minds of the people in your burgeoning ‘tribe’. Find common ground with them an incorporate what you can into your vision, but don’t dilute it too much by trying to please everyone. You won’t.
5. Be an exemplary model : The increased visibility that your leadership will generate will put you in the spotlight. Keep your hands clean. Don’t be tempted by your growing power and influence. Also, don’t avoid leadership if you have a shady past. If you have truly repented, take ownership for your humanity and mistakes. Share what you’ve learned from your errant ways and promise to stay on the straight and narrow. And then stay there.
6. Demonstrate integrity : Keep your word. Be consistent in your actions. Do what you say you’re going to do. Tell the truth. Make decisions your mother, spouse, children, grandmother would be proud of. Live as though your life will be played out in the media because it might actually end up there.
7. Ask for input and help : Don’t try to get to ‘the promised land’ alone. You can’t. And even if you do, it won’t be very gratifying. As you enroll others in your vision, identify key people in your cause and solicit their opinions and help. The more people you have actively engaged and on the bandwagon with you leading others as well, the easier your road trip will be.

Do these things consistently and you’ll find yourself living a fulfilled life, making a difference and leaving the world in a better place than you found it. That is your purpose so go live it.