Tag Archives: motivation

Where change begins: a starter kit for real life transformation

How do you build a life from a place where you think nothing will work?

There’s a starting point from which you can measure progress. An attitude shift and some changes to the way we use time are also required. If you stick with it, it’ll change your life. It revolves around the things we do in these three main areas and the time we spend on them:

Health and fitness

Money and income

Participation in society

We all sink time into things that take away from our lives rather than add to them. One of them is the time we spend on our phones or online. Using some of this time to build skills or habits in these areas is how you guarantee that your future will be better than your past.

Confidence grows. You’ll meet people. A way forwards will become clear. Goals will be set. Milestones achieved.

Gains are possible from a standing start. The first step is on you. It’s easy to avoid action, or add plans to a list. They’ll keep staring back at you but there won’t be any change. Action makes change happen. It’s gotta come from you.

It all begins with a simple plan. Small commitments lead to bigger commitments. Before you know it, you’ll have formed habits. People will notice your positivity. The dark clouds that were following you around will disappear.

But you’ve got to take that first step. Can you do it?

If you need a hand, let me know.

Being Quiet

Leave a reply

I think this is a page from Lao Tzu. Can’t remember for sure, but it resonates anyhow. Getting carried away in the chase for more, the hunt for shiny things, can take us to places we don’t want to go to. Balance need against greed and the answers will start to come to you.

Brim-fill the bowl, it’ll spill over

Keep sharpening the blade, you’ll soon blunt it.

Nobody can protect a house full of gold and jade.

Wealth, status, pride, are their own ruin.

To do good, work well, and lie low is the way of the blessing.

What are you measuring?

Leave a reply

I never used to measure anything and loved living in the land of always being ‘nearly there’.

No matter what I was working towards, I was never that far away from completing it and the end was always in sight.

Until it wasn’t and the target was missed.

On a diet? Yeah, those pounds are coming off. How much have you lost this week? Oh, I think I had salads on Tuesday and Wednesday so I’m definitely going to be lighter…

Training for that marathon? It’s going brilliantly. How many miles have you done this month? Ahh, I reckon I could have run three this week already…

And when it came to business, I would always let my bank balance and the accountant give me the good or bad news. The day of that meeting was always high anxiety.

And then I started measuring. I really went for it.

I track as much as possibly can to make sure I’m heading towards my goals and it’s made a massive difference.

I can see clearly when I’m on track and improving. I can see the areas where I’m falling behind. And, most importantly, I can see the pieces of the puzzle that are missing as I work towards a specific target every day.

One of my metrics is all about meetings with contacts and connections. I would happily sit at my desk all day and meet as few people as possible but I know this is no way to grow a business and build a network. So I track the numbers of meetings I have through each week.

And the fun starts when I watch how much new business I close as the number of meetings I take each week increases.

It’s a clear and simple feedback loop that tells me that I’m heading in the right direction.

Measuring makes it clear what works and what doesn’t. I know what needs to change. I know what I can improve on.

In the areas that matter the most to you, this process can be invaluable. If you’re looking for work, for example, knowing that you have hit your target of five new applications every day will give you confidence that it’s only a matter of time until the phone starts ringing with offers.

Measure and track progress. Obsess on it.

It’s a step on the path to success, no matter what goals you have.

Stick to the plan

Leave a reply

I met Paul (not his real name) a couple of years ago. He came up to me after a talk I gave at UTS here in Sydney to one of the Marketing masters degree courses. He was looking to start his own marketing agency and wanted me to mentor him. I think he was 21 at the time.

We stayed in touch and had a few excellent conversations. He was full of positivity and extremely well-researched in all aspects of personal development in a way that really impressed me – he knew what it was all about and was putting the pieces together.

Paul messaged me after our last conversation about six months ago to say he’d been made redundant from a role at a company that didn’t match his values and I gave him some straightforward advice on what path I felt would work for him to follow long term.

My sense at the time was that he didn’t take this well. I went against the course that his passion was suggesting was the right one. The route I mentioned would take much longer timewise but would be a real win for him in the long term based on my own experiences and knowledge.

But I’m not him, right? And I’m not in my twenties, champing at the bit to get paid the big bucks and make my mark on the world…

I took a call from him yesterday to say that my suggested path was the one he was now taking and he had started his dream job yesterday. This made me so pleased for him after a tough time mentally getting this point.

But the thing it highlighted more than anything is that the man with a plan is the most dangerous kind.

I had the feeling that Paul was going to struggle to get his life on track as the ‘follow your passion’ brigade was blowing their bugles and calling out to him, but he stuck with his plan and landed the right opportunity in the end.

And his call to say thank you for my help made my day. The fact that he did this means I’ll always keep him on my radar and look out for more ways I can help him.

Well done, mate.

Learnings from the last couple of years

Leave a reply

A long time has gone by since I last wrote here, and a few things in life have changed, so here we are…

We are living in Australia as permanent residents and we are striving to build a solid foundation for ourselves. My business is growing and there are now three of us in the team, and as I continue to drive this business growth I’ve had a few things in the back of my mind, helping with the steering.

I’ll share them below in no particular order. Some are attributed to a couple the people that I read and follow for guidance and inspiration, but not all:

The more genuine your interest in other people, the more people trust you.
The better you are at listening, the more people want to spend time with you.
Be precise in what you say (Jordan Peterson).
Be very careful what you wish for as it will come to you in time.
Remember people’s names if you can and use them.
Let others save face. Don’t drop them off the cliff unless you have no choice.
Be somebody by doing something.
Become an expert and work harder at this than anything else in your life.
Our minds control everything we do.
Our attitudes will always define our results and outcomes in life.
Do things that are hard, often.
Save money and build a stack before making investments.
Think like the seasons (from Jim Rohn) – be ready for them, plant seeds and work hard to grow them.
Stay cool and shut up.
Struggle teaches us who we really are. Accept the struggle that is life.
Improve what you’re not happy with. Obsess on the things you have to improve.
The easy option = bad results.
Honesty is the way to progress.
Get people on payroll doing things they are great at and that you can’t do.
Negativity will bring you down in the end. It repels all things.
Build self confidence through small daily actions done well to then rise above your circumstances and achieve more.
If you think you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re likely to be the opposite.
Massive action taken towards a goal gets results.
Patience, passivity and caution are killers for anyone entrepreneurial.
Find your why. It will drive you through bad times and keep you focused.
Know the way broadly and achieve in many things (Musashi).

Celebrate your successes in 2016

Leave a reply

Before we get stuck into 2017 and all the joys of January and the start of a fresh year, it’s important to take some time to reflect on the year that has just passed and the things that we have achieved.

Celebrating the victories, large and small, is a must. We don’t do this enough in my opinion and it helps to motivate us to deliver on the next big thing in front of us. Don’t dwell for too long but pay attention to what was tough and what challenges you overcame to get the job done.

This year for me has been a big one – a change of work focus, a move to a new country, completion of some really great project work for clients in four countries and a couple more medals for running events that I didn’t think I’d be able to do when I ruined my knee in 2012. I also completed the longest bike tour I’ve ever attempted, up and down some of the hills of South Wales, so it’s been another good one on all fronts.

Just typing this out brings home to me the positivity around getting things done and making things happen, so why don’t you give it a try? And once it’s done, start your 2017 planning with some confidence that you can (and will) deliver again in the New Year.

Stop procrastinating and get things done

Leave a reply

Get on with doing the things that really matter in your life. None of us know how long we have left and wishing you had a great life full of interesting friends and all the things you ever wanted won’t come by sitting on the sofa.

Ideas are everywhere but you’ve got to do the work to make them into something that matters. Execute on those ideas and you’ll see good things happen in time.
What we focus on most becomes our idea of reality – use this power to get things done through focussing hard every day on what you want.
What time of the day do you feel most energised and do your best work? If it’s 6am to midday, set your working day around this slot and deliver the goods.
Do everything you can to stay positive. Don’t look back too long on past failures. Look forward and focus on your strengths.
Don’t worry about what people think. My first business was a dating agency and everyone I knew told me I was I mad for launching it but I gained more from creating and running this business than any other in my life to date. If you believe it’s the right thing to do and worth the risk, get on with it.
If you’re feeling some fear and that’s what’s stopping you, work out exactly what it is and try and understand what you’re afraid of. What are your true intentions? How much do you want it? In most cases, your fears won’t amount to much and it’s time to get to work.

The top 5 reasons for not producing content when you know you should be

1 Reply

You business has social media profiles in all the right places – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc – and they all look great. Your beautifully crafted logo looks fabulous on all of the profiles and your team are in a larger background picture having a few drinks in the sun at last year’s Christmas party… but apart from this, it’s eerily quiet on those pages – because there’s nothing else there!

You’re not producing content and you know you should be. Your biggest competitor has just run a campaign on Facebook that has even had your staff taking notice and they seem to be flying with every other post talking about new business coming in from all angles. They’re taking business that you know you should be getting and this is getting you and your senior team very, very frustrated.

So why aren’t you getting these profiles moving, filling them with things that your customers and clients would be interested in? Maybe one or two (or all) of these excuses might sound familiar:

1 – I don’t know where to start – the beginning is the right place and you’re beyond this as you have the profiles set up. You need to think about what your objectives are from using these tools and then construct a plan that will get you there as quickly as possible.

2 – I haven’t got time – It takes time to create content but this is time well spent. You can also get your team to help out and have some fun in the process. Once you know what you’re doing and get on with it, the process speeds up significantly

3 – I don’t know how – There are mountains of blog posts out there that will help you to learn about this subject, plus a wide away of people who can do everything from hold your hand through the first baby steps, right through to writing content for you. Dedicate a bit of time to learning and you will be up to speed in no time.

4 – I don’t know what to say – Finding your voice and developing a style will take some time but there is a huge amount out there already to give you ideas, inspiration and topics to work on. I find it easiest to write/comment about things I know and my own experiences. The words tend to flow much more easily this way.

5 – I can do it later – Of course you can! It’ll go on the to-do list along with everything else you know you should be doing. Take the bull by the horns on this one and get started today with a couple of tweets and sharing of someone else’s content that you’ve enjoyed and would be useful for your followers, such as this post 🙂

Take the plunge and get started and the results will come in time. You’ll also need some help to get your strategy aligned to your business objectives – this is where I come in so give me a shout when you have seen enough business disappearing in front of your eyes and we can get to work.

More in, more out when it comes to content

Leave a reply

I’ve read almost double the amount of books in 2016 as I did the year before. This reading has covered a very wide range of topics and has been fiction and non-fiction titles, autobiographies, ‘how to’ books, novels and more.

It’s done me the world of good and encourages more thought and the formation of new ideas of my own. I don’t have a TV but I watch a lot of video online and read all sorts of content – specifically in the marketing/technology area that’s my line of work but also in other areas that are of interest to me everyday – and this also helps to develop new ways of thinking and new things to say.

Something as simple as reading from a source that you have never visited before, or watching a different show to your usual choices on TV can also help. The broader the range of sources – reading/watching/taking in as much as you can from everywhere – will fill your brain with inspiration and this can lead you anywhere.

I’m always looking for new sources of inspiration, too. What have you read or seen this year that’s really rocked you and made you think?

Pushing through Mondays

2 Replies

For a lot of people, Mondays can be tough. Back to jobs you don’t like, working on things you don’t care about after weekends spent having fun and spending time with friends or watching all of your favourite shows on tv.

This is all great and I’m fine with this if you are happy with your lot, but so many people simply are not happy. Their complaints about Monday and how bad life is for them show they are just not seeing what is going on around them.

Most people reading this are based in the western world and live in a modern economy where jobs and opportunity are plentiful. If you are not happy with your life on a Monday and live for Friday night when you can finish work for the weekend, something is very wrong. Make some changes and get yourself back on track – in the world we live in today, you can do ANYTHING and it’s simply all down to you.

Why are you not happy? Do you want more ‘things’ in your life? Fancy cars and clothes and a new, more impressive phone maybe? Do you know what happiness means to you in your life, even? Have you taken stock and sat down to actually work out what it means to you? I suggest you do, and fast.

If you do this, you will make sure that your life is a happy one and empty of regrets. You will be honest with yourself and spend as much time as you can doing the things that make you happy and make them the real focus of your life. You will work out what your strengths are and put the maximum effort you can on these things. Every day will be the same because you are happy with where your life is going and what you do on any day of the week will be driving you towards the biggest goals in your life. How happy will you be when you achieve these goals? Massively, of course!

Turn off your tv and get to work on the definition of your future happiness and then make a plan to deliver it through hard work and laser-like focus. Be honest with yourself and good things will happen. Back yourself and let other people complain about their weaknesses (and yours, too) as you focus entirely on your greatest assets, your strengths. Do this and Mondays will become another day where the opportunities you have in front of you become clearer and clearer. Same as every other day.

Change the way you see your work

Leave a reply

Take a couple of minutes to think about this quote above.

If you can shift your mindset a little, the possibilities can be endless. Have a think about it over the weekend and see what Monday brings…

Daily nudge

1 Reply

I have a daily email that has been coming to me for years now and it contains the following few words, adapted from a Tom Peters article on how to stay positive and keep moving forwards when things get tough in times of recession or unemployment:

Choose your attitude – consciously positive and enthusiastic
Take the lead
Listen intently
Learn something new
Help someone
Arrive early/leave late
Eye contact

I use a service called Nudgemail to get the message sent to my inbox every day and it has been a great way to keep this handy list front of mind when things don’t always go to plan. Can highly recommend doing the same thing with your own few words or phrases that keep you on track.

Doing the hard things

Leave a reply

Some things in life are just really hard.

Sometimes decisions have to be made that do not feel good and can cause a great deal of stress and strain for all those involved. These decisions can also have far-reaching implications and can change the whole course of your life and those you love and care for.

They might be decisions around work and careers. They might be decisions about where you live, who your friends are or how close to your friends you will be. They might also be around money, such as making a decision to make a life-changing purchase or commit to buying a property or a similarly huge spend.

Whatever the predicament that you find yourself in, you just have to do something about moving forwards from it and getting away from the darkness of the place you feel today. However bad today feels for you, whatever it is that you have to decide or deliver upon, you must remember a couple of things:

The sun will come up tomorrow, whatever decision you make today
There are many, many people in the world who have a lot more to deal with every day than you do and some reflection on this will do much more good than harm
The sooner you take some kind of positive action, however difficult it may seem, the sooner you can move on with your new plan and begin to execute it. Execution is what it’s all about.

Get into good habits

Leave a reply

If you can get into some good habits, they will provide you with a really solid foundation in everything you do.

I have some really bad ones and I think we all have them, somewhere. My worst is biting my fingernails. I do it ALL THE TIME and it causes great annoyance to both me and my wife. I stopped for a while with some NLP-style help a long time ago but I got back into it very quickly. Soooo annoying!

There is a phrase that I have heard quoted a few times – “habits over good intentions, every time” – and this is what I aim for. It takes work to make a habit stick, but if you can keep at it and it will pay you back over time.

Be ready for the call

1 Reply

With a bit of luck in your life, at some point in time you will get the call to the big leagues. And when that call comes, you need to be ready for it.

The work will be hard and it will feel like it is never going to be done but it will be the thing that makes you. When this kind of lucky break appears you have got to do something with it and, if you have discipline and focus, you will be prepared.

Manage yourself the right way through preparation and repetition of lots of things in your life, such as your health and diet, getting enough exercise and sleep, etc. and you will be able to take full advantage of the opportunity.

Repeat the simple things to the point that they become automatic and the call will not be a surprise – you’ll be ready and waiting.

—

[If you need any help with your resume/CV, please check out my other site https://realjobsearchinsider.wordpress.com/]

Get over your fears in 2016

Leave a reply

It doesn’t matter what it is that you’re afraid of and it doesn’t matter how you do it, but if you can make 2016 the year that you get past your fears, you’ll have a fantastic year.

So, what’s holding you back? Ask yourself this question when you’re facing something tough and listen hard to your answers. I’m sure when you do this you’ll realise that your answers are nothing much beyond excuses, really and sound quite hollow in the open air.

Keep doing this whenever you feel anxious or are struggling to overcome something you find hard or difficult. You’ll see things much more clearly and start to break through these self-imposed barriers.

Try it and see what it can do for you.

The thinking of Tom Peters

Leave a reply

“The vitality of our network will determine our professional fate.” From The Little Big Things: 163 Ways To Pursue Excellence (2010)

The work of Tom Peters is well worth getting to know if you are interested in learning how to improve your work life and, if you are a manager, get the most from your team.

Mr Peters learned the basics in the US Navy, collecting his postgrad qualifications following active service in the Vietnam War. He also spent some time in the White House in the 70’s as a senior advisor to the Nixon administration. But the experience for which he is most renowned is his time with McKinsey & Co in the late 70’s/early 80’s – with his co-writer Bob Waterman he wrote ‘In Search of Excellence’, one of the most popular books on organisational effectiveness there has ever been.

Nowadays, Mr Peters writes and speaks extensively on getting the most out of yourself and those around you in the workplace. The quote above is taken from one of my favourite books and it’s one I highly recommend for some true pearls of wisdom on how to achieve excellence at every level and in everything you do.

It’s all about being helpful, caring about people, doing a great job no matter what and about delivering excellence in the face of whatever you are confronted by. Reading this book also makes you immediately get off your backside and take some action which is one of the main reasons I love reading his work so much.

If you’re someone that loves to learn and finds that taking action is the best way to effect some kind of change, make sure you add this one to your shopping list.

What’s your next challenge?

Leave a reply

The daily grind can really get you down. Commuting followed by the same old faces in the office and the same old problems in your job leads us into the ‘living for the weekend’ mentality. Add some bigger personal goals to your life – challenges to your everyday existence of any kind, physical or mental – and use them to drive your life forwards and basically do more, live more.

My challenges are quite often related to sport. I have a challenge in April next year to ride 50 miles on my bike on a very hilly course in a race in West Wales. Now, I’m not a full-on rider so it’s going to take a lot of work to get fit enough for this. And I’m also not all that strong in the legs so hills just stop me stone dead, so the work is going to have to be really hard to make sure I can finish this thing.

The point I’m making here is that this bigger challenge – bigger than the everyday stuff we all have to do – is getting me focussed and making sure I train hard and put in the work to make the ride a success. It might also lead me to do more racing and get my legs strong enough to go up some bigger hills. Maybe even the French Alps one day. Who knows?

Set yourself a challenge and see where it takes you. Until you try, you’re never going to really know what you’re capable of. Use it to give you focus and create some energy and drive to achieve.

—

Ian Mountford is a global recruitment expert and strategy coach providing motivation and guidance to entrepreneurs, wannabe or fully-fledged. He draws from his own experience of building businesses from the ground up and spending many years helping clients to consistently achieve their goals and aspirations. Ian works with clients face-to-face and internationally.

What makes you who you are?

Leave a reply

Thinking about your influences and the things that have shaped you through your life is something that I’m a big fan of.

Where do you spend your most of your time? What kind of books or magazines do you read? What sports are you interested in and how do you keep fit and exercise? Do you enjoy cleaning and polishing your classic car at the weekend or do you always go for a long run? These few things are the tip of the iceberg and I realise that our childhood and upbringing plays a massive part in what we do as we get older but it can pay off to pay attention to this stuff.

If you have an awareness of the things that make you tick this should drive you towards spending more time doing them. They are pointing at your passions in life and this is where the best work of our lives comes from. This is the place where work doesn’t feel like work and we tend to be at our happiest when we are doing these things. Pay attention and see where it can take you.

—

Don’t mistake a bit of luck for true success

Leave a reply

If you don’t do the work, success isn’t likely to happen for you. You might get lucky, of course, but this isn’t true success as far as I’m concerned.

The work is hard, requires desire, passion, discipline and patience – ‘long haul’ mentality – but you’ve got to do it. Luck runs out but the road to success is a long and hard one and can be very fruitful over time. Work hard and luck will help you along the way but don’t ever rely on it.

There will be bad times. Bad days. Really bad things can and will happen. Plans will change. People will turn, or change their minds. Things break. Targets won’t always be met. But you’ve got to smile through it all and keep doing the work. This remains a constant at all times. Discipline, passion, desire and patience, all day, every day.

Luck can also be very fickle. You’ve got to grab onto her coattails (I like to think her as a woman – Lady Luck) and stay hanging on for the ride but be prepared for the time when you’ll get dropped – it always comes and you must accept it. No malice or annoyance, just say ‘thanks for the ride, see you next time!’.

Be thankful that you’re born, have the chances many don’t have and don’t let the opportunity for greatness pass you by. Take the chance. You can be everything you want to be. Your own power and potential is limited by nothing but you. Go and make it happen.

—