Conor writes about Intentional Leadership and Building Self Belief in those around you
This video is about Sequoia Capital and their 3 rules for success in leading a business. They make leadership feel very simple.. but it works. They have 30 years of track record of successfully taking on and turning around businesses.
Their rules are:
“The people in the market for boring are spoiled for choice” Rich Mulholland
“All the good shit is reserved for those who put their hands up.” Rich Mulholland
All the good stuff is just beyond the rejection, the looking like a fool, the bad first impression, the being laughed at… if you censor yourself, you close off access to the good stuff.
I am a fan of Rich Mulholland. He shares passion, some f**-bombs and some great personal stories as he tells you to take the risk that you know you need to take but are waiting for a better moment. The lesson: that moment will never come.
Let’s celebrate fall-forward risks, let’s celebrate epic fails and people who test the limits. A little bit of self-delusion and self-belief might just lead you to create your dream.
You should follow Rich on his YouTube Channel the Get Rich Quick show.
Here’s a video of me hanging out with Rich at the Entrepreneurs’ Organisation Global Leadership Conference:
This guy is going to be big. Rich is an entrepreneur, author and keynote speaker. He tells powerful short little stories with impact though his videos. I had a chance to do a short interview with Rich during the Entrepreneurs’ Organisation Global Leadership Conference in Frankfurt recently.
PS I think you really should subscribe to Rich’s YouTube Channel, you will lose out on lots of lessons if you don’t!
Here’s our 11 minute interview from Frankfurt…
Jim Rohn had a wonderful saying: “Success is a few good habits repeated every day, Failure is a few bad decisions repeated every day”
If you are reading this via email, the video is here Success is a Few Good Habits Repeated Every Day
An apple a day keeps the doctor away. This is old wisdom but relates to success in our lives. What are your apples? Your daily positive habits? Let me know in the comments below 😉
This week’s video is about Steven Covey’s 7th Habit of Highly Effective People: Sharpen the Saw.
Burning yourself out is no service to anyone. Running your car without changing the oil will destroy the engine. Running at 100% all day and all night will destroy your own personal engine.
Living a life in balance means taking the necessary time to renew yourself. You know what to do, but do you make the time for renewal?
Sharpen the Saw means taking care of the greatest asset you have: you. Here are some examples of activities:
As you renew yourself in each of the four areas, you create growth and change in your life. Without this renewal, the body becomes weak, the mind mechanical, the emotions raw, the spirit insensitive, and the person selfish. Not a good life.
If you are reading this post via email, you can watch the video here: The 5 States of Human Performance (From the Coaches Perspective)
The 9 minute video shares a tip for how to move forward from each of these 5 states. I share my story of 2009, of coming back from bankruptcy and loss of family and how I moved out of stage 5 (starting at minute 5:24 in the video).
PS if you can’t decide which state you are it, you in state 4.
Let me know a) which place you are at and b) the goal you choose in the comments below 😉
Genetically we differ 2% from chimpanzees and 3% from worms. Our big difference is the cortex, the upper layer of the brain. The cortex is the home of imagination.
Imagination gives us the choice to live intentionally. We can make a choice: lead a life that is not just response to stimuli, but building towards a vision: an imagined future.
A leader sees a future that is not yet here. This requires imagination. The clearer you can see and touch and feel this potential future the more compellingly you can communicate it to others.
Imagination is what makes us human. 2,300 years ago in the Greek city-state of Athens, Aristotle asked himself “what is the purpose of human life?” Aristotle defined the purpose of an object as being that which it can uniquely do. A human is alive – but plants are also alive – so that cannot be human purpose. A human feels – but animals also feel – so that cannot be human purpose. The unique gift of humanity is reason, the ability to solve problems in the mind, to imagine.
How can you develop your imagination? The video below shares a tool that Jim Collins uses to develop his power of Imagination.
If you are reading this via email, the video is on the blog here: Start with the End in Mind
Chris Brogan’s recent post had a section that said “you are at one of these 5 places in your life”…
If in state 1)
Enjoy it. (Find someone you can help.)
If in state 2)
Find a Mentor. Ask someone who has already had success about how they overcame this obstacle.
If in state 3)
Use the Pomodoro Method.
If in state 4)
Ask a few friends (not the cynical ones) what they think you are good at and what they think you should work on
If in state 5)
Move your body: Go for a walk.
PS if you can’t decide which state you are it, you in state 4.
Let me know a) which place you are at and b) the goal you choose in the comments below 😉
First understand the do-or-die importance of focus.
“If you don’t learn to focus, you will have a shallow and unrewarding life without any meaningful achievements.” Derek Sivers
That is worth repeating.
That’s bad.
So make it a priority.
Yes it’s hard. The world is designed to distract you. Facebook is a research laboratory focussed on human distraction. They invest billions and are excellent at their work. When facebook slip up, hard on their tails come Apple, apps, youtube, caffeine, bored friends, problematic neighbours and general office bullshit.
Apps are designed to be as addictive as possible.
Assume you are dealing with crack cocaine. If you can see it, you will use it. If you can hear it, you will use it. Willpower is not going to get you through this.
There are many reasons why we delay work. I think the most insidious is that I have a belief that the person I will be in future will be better than the person who I am today. I have a consistent inner belief that I will be smarter, better, faster in the future. The work that is hard today will somehow become easier for the better future me. But, what if’s not? I will only be better in future if I do the hard work of pushing through distractions today.
I have spent a lot of time interviewing high performance athletes. My goal was to understand their motivations, how they train, how they prepare mentally, and how they face anxiety. These successful athletes have an ability to focus on the one next step and, in the words of Nike, Just do it!
Josef Ajram, one of Spain’s top endurance athletes, tells himself “I will run another 15 minutes. Come on. Anyone can run another 15 minutes.” In Josef Ajram’s words, he has completed the Marathon de Sables – 243km across the Sahara desert in 6 days – by only ever allowing himself to think about the next 15 minutes.
Here are my simplified instructions for following the Pomodoro method.
Ingredients:
Instructions:
Count how many timers you can complete in a day. I bet you will not complete one single complete timer the first day you begin this habit. I didn’t.
Some clarifications…
*Any interruption*, you must reset the timer to 20 minutes.
If you need a drink of water, go get the water, then reset the timer.
If you need the bathroom, go, then reset the timer.
If you must check wikipedia to find out a fact, check wikipedia, then reset the timer. (better… resist the need to check facts now, and use a future timer to work on the project “research focus and collect sources”)
If you must respond to a phone alert, respond, reset the timer.
I think you get the idea. Only by working on 1, and only 1 project for the full 20 minutes = you get to count it as 1 timer.
* You can find the original Pomodoro Method described here: Pomodoro Method.
This week’s Rhetorical Journey video is all about the Ability to Focus
If you are viewing this via email, watch the video on the blog here: the Ability to Focus
This was inspired by Derek Sivers in his frequently asked questions. I recommend a quick read. It is lots of content in a short bullet point list.
Derek on focus: He shares 3 further tips for improving your focus…
Personally, this video about Gratitude is one of my favourite ways to Meditate for a few minutes. If you are reading via email, check out the video on the blog here: Nature, Beauty, Gratitude.
How many Pomodoro timers can you do today? Reply in the comments if you get 1 full timer done today!
If you liked this post, you will also like Focus and The Urgent and the Important.
I’m committed to sharing 1 new youtube video each week for the whole of 2017. This is week 4 and my video today is “How to Improve your Sales Process (4 Personal Habits to Develop)”
PS As of last night… I’ve updated my channel graphical look. I’d welcome your thoughts on the new look Rhetorical Journey Channel page. If you’re not already a subscriber to the youtube channel… What are you waiting for? Seriously… people pay me good money to talk and here you get me for free and in your comfy home.
If you are reading this via email, watch the video on the blog here: How to Improve your Sales Process (4 Personal Habits to Develop)
My best blog posts have always come from interactions with readers… comments, questions via email, twitter, facebook… I’d love your help to think about ideas for future videos. What questions do you have? What topics should I cover? What lessons should I share by video? I read all the comments 😉
