Did you know that the same hexagonal pattern that exists in honeycomb that bees create is the same pattern that is found in a bees’ eye? So what ,right!? Well, from this powerful pattern in nature we learn a valuable lesson that vision directs our actions. What the bee sees, he creates. Likewise, what we see we tend to create. This is an important universal law.
So what is our vision for our lives?
Whether we believe it or not, our vision and what we see has a dramatic influence on what we do and who we become. If we are able to envision the accomplishment of our goals and dreams then we are much more likely to achieve them. On the other hand, if all we can see is what is currently right in front of us, we will be unlikely to ever achieve what we have the capacity to achieve.
A bee sees through hexagonal eyes before creating the hexagonal honeycomb. Like the bee, what we see is what we create. If we are not seeing what we want to become then we must look up and find within ourselves the capacity to see beyond our current limitations and failures. Those that are able to see beyond today and hold in their mind a positive vision or picture of the future will be much more likely to realize their goals.
If we see success than most likely success will become our reality however if we can’t see it, it will become much more difficult to achieve it. Our vision provides us with inspiration and motivation to work hard and if we can truly see it, it will guide our actions today. For what we see, we become.
Do you have bee vision?
Hopefully each of us has a vision for our future and hopefully that vision is so much on our mind that it is what we see. Holding the vision close and truly seeing it gives us the opportunity to create it. This is what I call bee vision.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Thursday, January 19, 2012
It is Your Life--Own it!
Recently I gave a talk on ownership at a leadership conference. How different would our families, our communities, our nation, our world be if each of us took ownership for our actions, attitudes, behaviors and results!
Ownership is at the heart of successful people. People who realize and believe that they can indeed control their actions, attitudes, behaviors, and outcomes in life have such a deeper, richer, and more satisfying life. Those who take ownership for their mistakes will look to improve and learn from those mistakes and be better.
Unfortunately we live in a society that seems to encourage us to shift blame and point the finger. Rather than take ownership we search for excuses of why we’ve come up short. Rather than take action and accountability we waste our time deceiving ourselves while trying to deceive others.
Ownership is much like the “window and the mirror” philosophy of great leaders found in the book Good to Great by Jim Collins. Great leaders look in the mirror when things are not going well and try to figure out what they can do better to produce better results. Likewise, when things are going well, they look out the mirror to give praise to others and good luck. Contrastingly, poor leaders look out the window when things are going bad and seek to blame something out side of themselves for the poor performance and when things go well, they look in the mirror praising themselves. Too many of us fall into this type of thinking however it would greatly benefit us to look in the mirror when things are not going as well as we’d like and out the window when life is better than expected. Regardless if it is always our fault when things go poorly, having this attitude and living this philosophy will be a great benefit to us.
Finally, it is sad to me when we allow others to “control” us. For example, if my boss treats me poorly and in turn I have a bad attitude all day at work and then continue with it at home, who can I blame? The truth is, my boss didn’t force me to have a bad attitude. I made that decision. Allowing people the ability to “control” what only we can truly control is insanity. If we have a bad attitude, or behave poorly, or don’t reach our goals, regardless of what others have done to us, we can only blame ourselves.
As we take ownership of our lives, we will be much happier and more successful. Get rid of the blame game and enjoy the peace and excitement that comes from living a life of ownership—a life that you control! The day we believe we are fully responsible for our outcomes in life is the day we become free and the day we can begin to improve our results. Enjoy the life that comes with ownership!
Ownership is at the heart of successful people. People who realize and believe that they can indeed control their actions, attitudes, behaviors, and outcomes in life have such a deeper, richer, and more satisfying life. Those who take ownership for their mistakes will look to improve and learn from those mistakes and be better.
Unfortunately we live in a society that seems to encourage us to shift blame and point the finger. Rather than take ownership we search for excuses of why we’ve come up short. Rather than take action and accountability we waste our time deceiving ourselves while trying to deceive others.
Ownership is much like the “window and the mirror” philosophy of great leaders found in the book Good to Great by Jim Collins. Great leaders look in the mirror when things are not going well and try to figure out what they can do better to produce better results. Likewise, when things are going well, they look out the mirror to give praise to others and good luck. Contrastingly, poor leaders look out the window when things are going bad and seek to blame something out side of themselves for the poor performance and when things go well, they look in the mirror praising themselves. Too many of us fall into this type of thinking however it would greatly benefit us to look in the mirror when things are not going as well as we’d like and out the window when life is better than expected. Regardless if it is always our fault when things go poorly, having this attitude and living this philosophy will be a great benefit to us.
Finally, it is sad to me when we allow others to “control” us. For example, if my boss treats me poorly and in turn I have a bad attitude all day at work and then continue with it at home, who can I blame? The truth is, my boss didn’t force me to have a bad attitude. I made that decision. Allowing people the ability to “control” what only we can truly control is insanity. If we have a bad attitude, or behave poorly, or don’t reach our goals, regardless of what others have done to us, we can only blame ourselves.
As we take ownership of our lives, we will be much happier and more successful. Get rid of the blame game and enjoy the peace and excitement that comes from living a life of ownership—a life that you control! The day we believe we are fully responsible for our outcomes in life is the day we become free and the day we can begin to improve our results. Enjoy the life that comes with ownership!
Thursday, January 12, 2012
It's Your Ship
It’s Your Ship is a leadership book written by Captain D. Michael Abrashoff and is based on his experiences in the navy with a focus on his leadership practices as the captain of the USS Benfold. Below are some of the main points of emphasis found in the book that I believe if applied, can help us all to be more effective leaders, and help us more successfully guide our ship.
#1 Simplicity
Captain Abrashoff mentions at many times that good leadership requires doing simple things well. He writes “the art of leadership lies in simple things.” Sometimes we believe that in order to be great leaders we have to do big things to motivate and inspire others but we are reminded time and time again in this book that simple things produce great results. For example, Captain Abrashoff allowed younger enlistees to tour the ship when visitors came aboard when it was common practice for the Captain or some other high ranking officer to provide these tours. This simple act had a profound impact on his crew. Thus as leaders, we too can focus on the little things that can have a big difference on the performance of our team.
#2 Empowerment
It is emphasized over and over again in this book how Captain Abrashoff empowered his team to make decisions. He writes “The most effective managers work hard at showing people how to find their own solutions and then get out of their way.” During his time as Captain, it seems he was never caught peering over his crew member’s shoulders but instead trusted them with great responsibilities. Captain Abrashoff confesses that in many cases he was nervous as he stood back and allowed his people to take responsibility but in the end, they always seemed to perform well and gain confidence. Likewise, when we truly empower our people we open the door to a much higher level of success. People want to feel trusted and they want to do a good job. Showing this trust as a leader and allowing our people flexibility and decision making authority will strengthen our team and end in better performance.
#3 Others Focus
Many high ranked leaders are focused on themselves but Captain Abrashoff strongly emphasizes that the best leaders are focused on others. Rather than seek for praise or recognition for one’s self, truly great leaders look for praise for their team and others. Captain Abrashoff writes, “A great leader puts other’s performance ahead of their ego. Never once do anything to promote yourself…”. By doing this, we gain the trust and respect of our team which is essential in our ability to lead them. When people feel and know you are looking out for them, they will go the extra mile for you. Having a focus on others rather than self significantly magnifies our ability to be successful leaders.
I believe these suggestions applied will greatly enhance our leadership ability. In the end, as the title suggests, ultimately it is ‘our ship’ and we can decide how effective we will become as leaders.
To see how I ranked this book click here
#1 Simplicity
Captain Abrashoff mentions at many times that good leadership requires doing simple things well. He writes “the art of leadership lies in simple things.” Sometimes we believe that in order to be great leaders we have to do big things to motivate and inspire others but we are reminded time and time again in this book that simple things produce great results. For example, Captain Abrashoff allowed younger enlistees to tour the ship when visitors came aboard when it was common practice for the Captain or some other high ranking officer to provide these tours. This simple act had a profound impact on his crew. Thus as leaders, we too can focus on the little things that can have a big difference on the performance of our team.
#2 Empowerment
It is emphasized over and over again in this book how Captain Abrashoff empowered his team to make decisions. He writes “The most effective managers work hard at showing people how to find their own solutions and then get out of their way.” During his time as Captain, it seems he was never caught peering over his crew member’s shoulders but instead trusted them with great responsibilities. Captain Abrashoff confesses that in many cases he was nervous as he stood back and allowed his people to take responsibility but in the end, they always seemed to perform well and gain confidence. Likewise, when we truly empower our people we open the door to a much higher level of success. People want to feel trusted and they want to do a good job. Showing this trust as a leader and allowing our people flexibility and decision making authority will strengthen our team and end in better performance.
#3 Others Focus
Many high ranked leaders are focused on themselves but Captain Abrashoff strongly emphasizes that the best leaders are focused on others. Rather than seek for praise or recognition for one’s self, truly great leaders look for praise for their team and others. Captain Abrashoff writes, “A great leader puts other’s performance ahead of their ego. Never once do anything to promote yourself…”. By doing this, we gain the trust and respect of our team which is essential in our ability to lead them. When people feel and know you are looking out for them, they will go the extra mile for you. Having a focus on others rather than self significantly magnifies our ability to be successful leaders.
I believe these suggestions applied will greatly enhance our leadership ability. In the end, as the title suggests, ultimately it is ‘our ship’ and we can decide how effective we will become as leaders.
To see how I ranked this book click here
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Start the Year Off with a BANG!
“I am so thoroughly convinced that if we don’t set goals in our life and learn how to master the techniques of living to reach our goals, we can reach a ripe old age and look back on our life only to see that we reached but a small part of our full potential. When one learns to master the principles of setting a goal, he will then be able to make a great difference in the results he attains in this life.”
M. Russell Ballard
Ok, so this may come as no surprise to anyone but the best way to start off the New Year with a BANG is to set goals! Hopefully this is still a tradition for many of us and hopefully we believe we can accomplish our New Years’ goals. I believe goal setting and achieving is a critical habit that must be cultivated in order to reach our full potential. As we set new goals this time of year, below are some ideas that will help us achieve them.
#1 Love it
Do you love your goal? Are you fully committed to it? Many of us fail to achieve our goals because we struggle to love what we are trying to accomplish. And this is understandable as some of our goals require us to do things we do not care for or give up things we really like! But in order to really accomplish a goal we must love it! Though we may not actually love the action required to achieve the goal, hopefully we have faith that we will love what the end results will be as we work toward the goal. Learning to find a way to love our goal will help us obtain it.
#2 Work Hard
The best way to achieve a goal is to work hard to accomplish it. Too many of us set goals than refuse to put forth much effort or sacrifice to obtain it. When we set goals, we must realize that in most instances, if it is a stretch goal, it will require hard work, time and effort to achieve it. So as you set goals, decide if you are willing to work hard to realize it.
#3 Scale the Wall and Form a Habit
There should be some initial push back and build up along the goal accomplishment path. This is normal. Many of us start out “gun-ho” and then fade. Those who persist through the initial high then letdown phases will develop habits that will increase success. For example, if my goal is to run 25 minutes every day, I may be excited for the first week but then a letdown will come and I will begin to wonder if the goal is worth it, whether I have enough time, whether it is too cold outside, etc. When these ideas of self-doubt come, it is our clue that it is time to push through and form a habit. Many people are stopped from success because they refuse to scale the wall of letdown. Once you climb over it a few times however, a habit is formed and the goal becomes much easier and more likely to be obtained.
#4 Evaluate
Evaluating our time is important. Is what we are doing adding value to what we hope to accomplish? Many of us simply waste too much time and this interferes with our ability to accomplish our goals. If you seem stuck, or are not making progress toward your goal, stop and list the things you are doing and then determine if they are contributing to the accomplishment of your goals or not. Evaluating our time and using it wisely toward things that help us reach our goals will go a long way in helping us be successful.
#5 Track
Last but not least is tracking our progress. We must know at any given time how we are doing. Without a scoreboard, it becomes very difficult to achieve our goals. Thus find a way that works for you to track your progress as frequently as possible. Tracking progress will lead to success.
Start now to develop your ability to set and reach goals. Doing so will have a tremendously positive impact on your life. Here is to a prosperous and successful 2012—start it off with a BANG!
M. Russell Ballard
Ok, so this may come as no surprise to anyone but the best way to start off the New Year with a BANG is to set goals! Hopefully this is still a tradition for many of us and hopefully we believe we can accomplish our New Years’ goals. I believe goal setting and achieving is a critical habit that must be cultivated in order to reach our full potential. As we set new goals this time of year, below are some ideas that will help us achieve them.
#1 Love it
Do you love your goal? Are you fully committed to it? Many of us fail to achieve our goals because we struggle to love what we are trying to accomplish. And this is understandable as some of our goals require us to do things we do not care for or give up things we really like! But in order to really accomplish a goal we must love it! Though we may not actually love the action required to achieve the goal, hopefully we have faith that we will love what the end results will be as we work toward the goal. Learning to find a way to love our goal will help us obtain it.
#2 Work Hard
The best way to achieve a goal is to work hard to accomplish it. Too many of us set goals than refuse to put forth much effort or sacrifice to obtain it. When we set goals, we must realize that in most instances, if it is a stretch goal, it will require hard work, time and effort to achieve it. So as you set goals, decide if you are willing to work hard to realize it.
#3 Scale the Wall and Form a Habit
There should be some initial push back and build up along the goal accomplishment path. This is normal. Many of us start out “gun-ho” and then fade. Those who persist through the initial high then letdown phases will develop habits that will increase success. For example, if my goal is to run 25 minutes every day, I may be excited for the first week but then a letdown will come and I will begin to wonder if the goal is worth it, whether I have enough time, whether it is too cold outside, etc. When these ideas of self-doubt come, it is our clue that it is time to push through and form a habit. Many people are stopped from success because they refuse to scale the wall of letdown. Once you climb over it a few times however, a habit is formed and the goal becomes much easier and more likely to be obtained.
#4 Evaluate
Evaluating our time is important. Is what we are doing adding value to what we hope to accomplish? Many of us simply waste too much time and this interferes with our ability to accomplish our goals. If you seem stuck, or are not making progress toward your goal, stop and list the things you are doing and then determine if they are contributing to the accomplishment of your goals or not. Evaluating our time and using it wisely toward things that help us reach our goals will go a long way in helping us be successful.
#5 Track
Last but not least is tracking our progress. We must know at any given time how we are doing. Without a scoreboard, it becomes very difficult to achieve our goals. Thus find a way that works for you to track your progress as frequently as possible. Tracking progress will lead to success.
Start now to develop your ability to set and reach goals. Doing so will have a tremendously positive impact on your life. Here is to a prosperous and successful 2012—start it off with a BANG!
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