Start cutting!

 

motivation tips

There’s an old carpenter’s saying.
“Measure twice, cut once.”
It basically means that you should double check your measurements before cutting a piece of wood.
Because once it’s cut . . .  it’s cut.
That’s great advice if you’re dealing with a static plan.
But terrible advice for dealing with a dynamic marketplace.
Instead, find a problem that needs fixing.
Or an idea or cause that inspires you.
And then start cutting!
Passion will move you forward.
And circumstances will conspire to sustain you.
Like what happened to the protagonist in the film Kon-Tiki.
He set sail on a balsa wood raft.
From South America to the Pacific Islands.
To prove that Polynesia was populated with humans from Peru.
Once he set his idea in motion, all sorts of unexpected factors cooperated with him.
The balsa wood expanded in the water and bit into the hemp ropes.
Creating a tight seal, resistant to the stresses of the ocean waves.
Every morning edible flying fish would land on the raft.
Providing nourishment for the challenging day ahead.
Yes, he measured and made a raft.
But then he stopped measuring and made an act of faith.
One that took him 4,300 miles in 101 days.
And made his idea a reality.

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This is a tricky time…

innovation tips

 

How do you support your existing business and brands, while embracing the dynamics of change?

How do you keep growing and cash flowing, while investing in new opportunities for growth?

It’s tricky, but essential.

Steve Jobs once remarked, “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.”

Unfortunately, that’s not true any longer.

Today innovation distinguishes a survivor.

If you haven’t been watching, followers eventually become road kill in this fast-moving marketplace.

Don’t delude yourself by imagining that your category is different (or that you have more time).

And please don’t think for a minute that you can hold on to it all.

For as Thoreau made clear, “You never gain something but that you lose something.”

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Who have you astonished today…?

Becoming better

 

Each leaf,
each blade of grass
vies for attention.

Even weeds
carry tiny blossoms
to astonish us.

– Marianne Poloskey

We’ve waited long enough. It’s time to wake up and astonish people in order to get our businesses and our economy growing again. Sadly, I know a lot of smart people at organizations large and small who remain curled up in their comfy nests, hoping that the marketplace will miraculously return to them.

Many have had their budgets cut, and their people are frightened and disengaged. The competitive environment (status quo) is putting pressure on their margins and, in many cases, their very survival. The resulting effect is similar to what happens to people drowning in icy water; they’re gradually losing their dexterity, will and consciousness.

Astonishment is the way out of the downward spiral.

Astonishment is about empathy, creativity and experimentation. It’s about turning people on to an idea and bringing it to life for their benefit, and for yours. It’s about developing and stimulating the use of new products and services, as well as the sharing of novel ideas. It’s about discovery.

Astonishment is a hunger fed. It’s an itch unexpectedly scratched. It’s your obsession with figuring out how to captivate people. It’s about waking up and breaking out of the limiting cycle of best practices, benchmarking, and other forms of ho-hum imitation.

Marketplace success is about uniqueness and passion. It’s a by-product of novel ideas that unlock people’s hearts and minds; ideas that astonish and stimulate desire.

Churchill said it best, “The era of procrastination, of half-measures, of soothing and baffling expedients, of delays is coming to its close. In its place we are entering a period of consequences.”

Don’t think. You’ve thought long and hard enough. Thinking is now your enemy. Instead, do what you know you need to do.

“You’ve got to jump off cliffs all the time and build your wings on the way down.” – Ray Bradbury

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“If you don’t start, you can’t fail”

how to start

It sounds ridiculous when you say it that way.

But of course, it is ridiculous. It’s (quite possibly) the reason you’re stalling.

On the other hand, there’s no doubt that, “If you don’t start, you will fail.”

Not starting and failing lead to precisely the same outcome, with different names.

Make your choice Today…

 

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Belief is created,not communicated…

motivation tips

You’ve probably heard this expression:

“If you want people to think you’re funny, don’t tell them you’re funny. Tell them a joke.”
So why don’t more people follow that advice?
Because joke writing requires creativity, time, and effort.
It’s not easy to create something original and compelling.
And joke telling takes guts.
It’s not easy to risk failing in front of others.
Unfortunately (or fortunately, if you’ve got game) creativity and guts are what it takes today to separate your ideas from the scores of others in today’s saturated marketplace.
The days of buying attention and communicating belief are on life support.
People are weary and wary of messaging and marketplace promises
Today you earn belief through the tangible details of your offering and the inspired actions of your people.
So focus intently on your idea.
Have an ambitious purpose.
And understand the tangible issues that will ultimately make the greatest difference to your people and to your audience.
Then look at what you do, why you get out of bed in the morning, as an opportunity to stand out and rise above the growing sea of sameness.

Don’t spend your days pickled in a world of parity, marinating in minutiae while your ideas and unbridled spirit shrivel up and die.
Grab yourself (and your people) by the collar, yank yourself off of your comfortable, well-worn path and create something distinctive, meaningful, and emotional.

P.S. Who will win the next election, next deal,next customer,next life partner? Obviously, the candidate who has created the most belief.

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Ishita’s Meditation…

 

power of choice

I came across Ishita Gupta write up and found quite irresistible,here is some for you;

Every day is a new chance to choose..

Choose to change your perspective.

Choose to flip the switch in your mind.Turn on the light and stop fretting about with insecurity and doubt.

Choose to do your work and be free of distraction.

Choose to see the best in someone,or choose to bring out the worst in them.

Choose to be a laser beam,with focused intention,or scattered ray of light that does not do any good.

The power of choice is just that.Power.The only thing we have to do is to remember that we control the harnessing of that power.We choose.

Don’t let your circumstances or habits rule your choices today.Become a master of yourself and use your willpower to choose.

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Take on your self-doubt and your laziness…

take on your self doubt and laziness

The biggest challenge you have is to challenge your own self-doubt and your laziness.It is your self doubt and your laziness that define limit who you are.If you want to change who you are ,you must take on your self doubt and laziness that keep you small.

It is your self doubt and laziness that deny you the life you want.There is no one in your way except you and your doubt about you.

It is easy to stay the same.It is easy not to change.Most people choose to stay the same all their lives.If you will take on your self doubt and your laziness,you will find the door to your freedom..

Others have done it. Am 100% sure you can do it…

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The confrontation waiting to happen…

Sam Muchai Dolphins Group Blog

It’s not between you and your boss, your critics, your editor, your competition, your spouse or some other outsider.

The essential confrontation, of course, is with yourself.

You are your own biggest critic.

And your own biggest competitor.

Now that it’s easier than ever to pick yourself, the question is, “why haven’t you?”

And now that it’s easier to ignore the competition and become a category of one, the question is the same.

Our instinct is to externalize the forces that are holding us back, but in fact, that’s not the problem, is it?

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Build your power base..

jeff-bezos-founder amazon

jeff-bezos,founder- amazon

Knowledge is power.What you know is your power base-Its the battery you run on.

You need to charge it constantly and consciously.Who do you want to be in charge of what you know? News directors?Radio disc jockeys? The office gossip? Tabloid newspaper editors?A pessimistic family member?

Unless we consciously decide to build our own knowledge base,with a sense of direction to it,then we will be programed,totally by random input.Feeling miserable and alienated from life is caused by not being in control of what we know.

Take control of what you know.The more you know about what motivates you.the easier it is to motivate yourself.The more you know about the human brain,the less trouble you have operating it.Knowledge is power.Respect yours and build on it…

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Angry is a habit…Generous is a habit…

 

It’s easy to imagine habits like a scotch after dinner, biting your nails or saying, “you know” after every sentence. An event or a time of day triggers us, and we go with the habit. It’s easier than exploring new territory–it’s merely a thoughtless response to an incoming trigger.

But emotions can become habits as well.

Distrustful is a habit.

Lonely is a habit.

Generous is a habit.

When that stranger doesn’t do what you expect, is your response to assume that she’s out to get you, trying to make an extra buck, looking for a shortcut? Or do you default to the habit of giving that new person a chance to explain herself?

Habits are great when they help us get what we want. Bad habits, on the other hand, are bad because the shortcut that satisfies us in the moment gets in the way of our long term goals.

Once you can see that your emotions are as much as a habit as cracking your knuckles, they’re a lot easier to work with.

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