7 Aralık 2018 Cuma

amazon highlights: Leadership / Stephen Moulton / 2018



Illusory superiority is a cognitive bias where individuals overestimate their own qualities and abilities, compared to others. Overall, we are overconfident in our abilities. Most of us believe we are smarter, more dependable and just plain better than others. Seeking feedback from peers, subordinates and supervisors is a recommended and invaluable in today's workplace. The challenge most of us face is that we don’t like and usually reject feedback that doesn’t fit our belief system. Neuroscience has shown that part of the brain actually shuts down when we get information contrary to our beliefs and happily lights up when information supporting our belief system is presented.

1. Under Leadership Epidemic
For some reason, too many leaders, managers, and supervisors aren't leading. Way too many individuals when promoted are ill prepared to be leaders. They don't know how to hold people accountable, manage performance, deal with conflict, or they don't want to.

2. Be a Leader Instead of the Boss
THE SECRET IS: Everyone must know his or her own roll they must have the skills and know them well. Until they know themselves, they can't perform well. THE LEADERSHIP REALITY IS: If you're a leader, you can't blame the players for poor performance. You have to be a teacher, a conductor, a coach, and a cheerleader.

3. Leadership Focus
Effective leaders provide this 'outcomes focus' for their organization by emphasizing the mission, vision, values, and strategic goals of their organization and at the same time they are building the capacity of their organizations to achieve them.

4. Lessons from Leadership Vision and Purpose
When leaders create a compelling purpose and vision, something almost magical happens.

5. Creating a Vision for Change
To keep people focused on a major change regularly bring the vision for change into their consciousness every day, so that over time the new vision becomes part of them. People who focus on a specific task can teach themselves to think differently over time. You are the role model, model your vision. Keep your vision message simple and repeatable.

6. Dealing with the Uncertainty of Change
When people are in a familiar situation, they tend to switch their brains to autopilot. But the moment uncertainty enters the picture - our brains flash a danger message, switching our full attention to one thing, people fear the unknown. During change,   First, leaders must create the perception of certainty and reduce ambiguity.    Second, give specifics of the change.   Third, break complex down change into small steps.

7. Employee Engagement versus Employee Satisfaction
The terms employee engagement and employee satisfaction are NOT interchangeable. Engaged employees are passionate and alive with the desire to perform well and do so in alignment with your strategic objectives. These employees are the reason you need to create an environment where they become engaged for the long-term.

8. Leading with the Brain in Mind
Threats to our wellbeing are much more intense and longer-lasting than reward responses.

9. Neuroscience and Leadership -Independence
Research has shown that when confronted by a stressful situation ... one factor that determines our effectiveness in dealing with it ...is the amount of control we have in dealing with it. Leaders who want to improve performance reduce uncertainty by supporting their people's need for Independence. Provide people with options or allow them to organize their assignments and projects.

10. How Status Affects People
When it comes to implementing change - keep the perception of status in mind.

11. Relationships Affect Engagement and Performance
People need to feel like they belong and are cared about, by their leaders and peers. When people make a strong connection and perceive that others are "just like us" they become linked, and fear of threat diminishes.

12. Trust in the Workplace
When a perception that an event or decision isn't fair, it generates a response of hostility, anger, and distrust. Help your employees see fairness when you make mistakes, use a bit of humor. Self-deprecating humor usually works pretty well in building trust.

13. Programming for Change
It’s not enough to introduce a vision once or twice and expect others to internalize it. Just because you get tired of repeating it, doesn’t mean others have internalized it yet

14. Improving Employee Performance
establish realistic performance expectations - with outcomes Performance expectations are most effective if they are outcome based.  In other words, explaining what is expected and why. Schedule regular bi-monthly or at least monthly meeting times with each team member.

15. Eliminate Fake Work
Create a clear strategy that shows clear intent. Ensure that every employee is aligned with the strategy, so they are prioritizing work tasks through the lens of the team. Execute on the strategy by ensuring that every person understands how to turn the strategy into action every day. Do not assume that your people have heard about your strategy, let alone understand it.

16. Three Barriers to Traditional Performance Management Success
The first reason is objectivity bias. Ever notice employees bad mouthing their boss. That comes about because the employee thinks he or she is objective and the boss isn't. The second is called confirmation bias. In the performance management process, employees want feedback that confirms their self-perceptions, and they ignore, are offended, or reject feedback that doesn't fit their paradigm. The third is called threat response. Threat response is where the employee responds negatively when they receive feedback that threatens their self-perceptions. The result is often outward acceptance or compliance, but inwardly a pullback of engagement. Stop giving direct unsolicited feedback.

17. Coaching to Change Performance
about trying to change people's worldviews and performance. Don't do it. The key is to help people conclude that "they" want to change. One way of doing that is to establish outcome-based performance expectations and having your employee’s document events when they demonstrated those expectations. Then review those examples on a regular basis in one-on-one conversations and have them rate themselves on the results and their actions.

18. Is Pay Really Linked to Performance?
In reality, performance seldom determines pay.

19. Two Performance Review Agendas
Some bosses want to discuss where performance needs to be improved, while the subordinate is more interested in such issues as compensation, and career advancement.

20. One Key to Improving Employee Performance
people act emotionally, then think to rationalize their decisions or actions after the fact.

21. Another Key to Improving Employee Performance
Regular weekly performance management coaching sessions are a must. Establish regular one-on-one meetings with each employee or leader. Once a week, every other week, or no less than once a month. The frequency of the meeting should depend on the skill and performance of the employee or leader. Start with a discussion on specific expectations both behavioral and technical.  Make the expectations outcome based. Employees who have weekly one-on-one meetings with their bosses are more engaged and productive.


amazon highlights: Success: Why You Fail / Thibaut Meurisse / 2016


As Jim Rohn said “Learn to work harder on yourself than you do on your job. If you work hard on your job you will make a living, if you work hard on yourself you can make a fortune.” The time to work hard on yourself is NOW!

You Shall Not Mistake «Your Reality» For Reality
A human being always acts and feels and performs in accordance with that he imagines to be true about himself and his environment. Maxwell Maltz, Psycho-cybernetics. Our vision of life is nothing more than a constructed reality. We weren’t born with limitations on what we can or cannot do. Those limitations were artificially created afterwards.
The reason why our subconscious mind is so powerful is because it is a mechanical goal-seeking device. It works through trial and error and will make all the adjustments needed over time until it reaches the goal it was programmed to achieve. The truth is that our mind needs failure!
One reason why many people fail to use the full power of their mind is simply because they forget to apply this trial and error process in order to move forward with their life. In other words, they are afraid to fail and because of that they never make the mistakes that our brain desperately needs in order to achieve our goals. Another critical reason is that they have limiting beliefs—artificial limitations existing only in their mind and created through their interpretation of past events.
Have you ever heard someone tell you to be realistic? Or have you ever told someone to be realistic? Our reality is in fact based on our personal interpretation of the world and what we choose to focus on constantly. Our current reality is not the result of our past experience. It is the result of our personal interpretation of past experiences in addition to specific parts of reality that we choose to focus our attention on. Your reality is not the true reality. you can create a more empowering reality by: Becoming more optimistic Identifying your limiting beliefs and deconstructing them
Do you know what the difference between pessimistic and optimistic people is? It’s simply their focus. Being pessimistic or being optimistic is a choice. Every day we are creating our reality by choosing what to focus on. Negative thoughts are harming your mental health and limiting your potential. They don’t help you get the life you deserve. Now, being optimistic doesn’t mean denying reality! It is a perfectly rational behavior! Actually, any time spent worrying is irrational. Actually, we have a strong bias towards negativity. We are more sensitive to unpleasant events than we are to pleasant events. In the past, it was critical for our survival

Here is what you can do to become more optimistic:
Stop watching TV: Jim Rohn once wisely observed that “Poor people have a big TV. Rich people have a big library.” It manipulates your emotions. It steals your time. It dictates to you what to think. It distorts reality.The truth is that you are not responsible for changing the world, you are only responsible for changing yourself. The more you work on yourself, the more you will be able to influence the world. It prevents you from enjoying quality time with your family or friends.
Spend less time reading/watching the news
Spend less time with negative relatives or remove yourself from them: According to Jim Rohn “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” You’d better choose them wisely.
Start your day by reading inspirational material or watching inspirational videos
Use positive affirmations/visualization daily: Here is what you should consider when using positive affirmations: Use the present tense and not the future tense ("I am" not "I will") Avoid negative forms: don’t say « I’m not shy » but "I'm confident" Repeat the sentence for 5 minutes (use a timer for convenience). Do it every single day without exception for at least a month, and preferably 2 months.
1. Support your affirmations with real life experiences.: Include things you are already confident about, regardless of how small they may be, and say to yourself I’m confident because of _____ and _____. You will find that it works better than simple affirmations.
2. While saying positive affirmations, visualize yourself embodying what you want To be.
3. Add movements and emotions.
4. Learn to reframe any situation by focusing on the positive: Why deny it? In fact, reality in and of itself is neutral. It is your interpretation of it that creates your problems. You are empowering your worst enemy, stop it! Eckhart Tolle wisely advised: “Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it.” Once you have accepted your situation focus on all the positive aspects you can think of.

Remember that no situation has the power to make you miserable without your consent. is not the situation that matters, it is how you choose to react to it. Tip: Instead of seeing problems start seeing “challenges” or “opportunities.” Reframe problems as challenges and failures as learning opportunities and big failure as massive learning opportunities! Your problems are only as big as you want them to be. That’s it! Now do you want larger or smaller problems?
You are the victim only in your own mind. Your reality is defined by your belief system. A belief is simply something that you accept as true, regardless of whether or not it actually is. Your beliefs come from the way you interpreted past events and are the result of: What you have heard (from your parents, your friends, your teachers, the media...) What you have experienced Positively: love from your parents, good results at school... Negatively: trauma (abuse, humiliation, failure...) There are two ways your beliefs were created: Strong emotions Repetition
Your subconscious mind is like big brother. Big brother is quite dumb. Identify your limiting beliefs I would like to...but What limiting beliefs are holding you back? Can you uncover them?
Deconstruct your beliefs: You can always come up with thousands of things you are good enough to do, stop focusing on the few that you find difficult. Look for information that demonstrates your beliefs are false. The basic assumption upon which you should act in your life is: if other people can do it then I can as well.

You shall Not Let Your Thoughts Define Who You Are
You are not your thoughts. We shouldn’t let our thoughts determine who we are. If we constantly react to our negative self-talk sooner or later we will get depressed.
You are not your ego. you don’t need to listen to your negative thoughts. Don’t engage them and don’t give them your attention, with nothing to hold on to you’ll find that they start to disappear.
We can only live in the present. The only thing that exists is now. Every time we think of the past or the future, the thinking occurs in the present—now. Your past does not exist anymore and thus cannot define who you really are unless you think of it in the present. What about your future? Your future is just created through expectations.
Become aware of the thoughts that pop up during the time you spend doing what you are doing. Don’t get caught by your thoughts. Just observe them. Become the witness of what you do. Watch every movement you are doing. Focus your attention on your body. How do you feel in your body while doing your current activity?
Instead of trying to suppress your thoughts or your emotions learn to accept them. The fact that you are having a thought is the reality, but this thought doesn’t have to become your reality. The more you accept your thoughts and stop trying to suppress them, the less power they will have over you.
Replace negative thoughts with positive thoughts:

You Shall Be Clear on the Meaning of Success
Success is not something you pursue, success is something you become. Jim Rohn.
Success is when you work on becoming the best you can become, do what you love and give your best contribution to the world. Ask yourself “How can I serve people while doing what I love?” Think about what you can give, not about what you want to get. As the Bible says “Give and it is all be given unto you.”
What is the meaning of life? Main characteristics of a great life purpose: Timeless, Universal, Inspiring, Transcend your ego-A true life purpose should come from a place of love not fear.
How can I leverage my problems? How can I get paid to do what I love? It is impossible to be very successful if you don’t really love what you do. How can I better serve?

You Shall Be the Creator of Your Life
If you don't design your own life plan, chances are you'll fall into someone else's plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much. Jim Rohn
Each time you fail to take responsibility in any area of your life, you give your power away to circumstances and people around you. Taking responsibility is not always easy, because it requires that you tell yourself the truth, that you accept the fact that you may have done something wrong or that you could have done things differently. It is always easier to blame others than to change. Commit yourself to take full responsibility for your life even in situations where you don’t really believe you are responsible. Taking responsibility never means beating yourself up or blaming yourself. Taking responsibility is accepting the reality and realizing you have at least some power to change it. While you are not responsible for this event you are responsible for the way you choose to react to it. The reality is that nobody is coming to save you. Nobody can get married for you and die for you. Don’t live your life by default, create your life! Decide to leave home every morning with a great attitude Influence people by your positive attitude and don't let people influence you with their negative attitude.
Your attitude not your aptitude, will determine your altitude. – Zig Ziglar
what happens to us has very little impact on our happiness level. The only way we can significantly increase our happiness is by changing our thoughts and our actions. Happiness comes from within you not from outside of you. you should choose worthy goals to pursue. Goals should help you become the person you want to be rather than getting things you want to have. Setting ambitious goals is important because during the process that leads up to those goals you grow as a person.

You Shall Set Goals
A goal is a dream with a deadline. Napoleon Hill
Setting goals and writing them down is probably one of the best gifts you can give yourself.
1. It gives direction to your subconscious mind
2. It empowers you:
3. It contributes to building a healthy amount of self-esteem:
4. It changes your present reality:
5. It improves your health:
The very first thing to do when you want to set some goals for yourself is to put them on paper. Your goal should be very clear. Clarity is the key. Find a way to measure your goals because otherwise you cannot be held accountable and cannot track your results. You want a goal that will push you out of your comfort zone and make you feel better once you achieve it. Having a goal is like being on a cruise. You don’t care that much about the destination but you definitely want to enjoy the journey. You have limited willpower so save it as much as possible. Try to create a friendly and supportive environment that will help you achieve your goal.
Share your goals. When talking about your goals, avoid using I will try, I think, maybe or if it goes well. Instead use I will, when I achieve, I know I will or I definitely will. Anticipate all possible ways it can go wrong and create a strategy Avoid putting yourself in difficult situations
When you create list of goals you want to make sure that you cover all the areas in your life. It should include your career, your health, your wealth, your relationships, your hobbies and other areas you can think of. Here are the characteristics of a good list of goals: Covers all areas of your life Goals are all measurable and have a deadline The wording is positive. Don’t use “not” or other negative words but use “I am” or “I will” Check your list every day to keep your goals fresh in your mind and to give a signal to your subconscious mind to focus on these specific goals.

I’m changing the world by helping you achieve your goals


amazon highlights: Management: Amazing Team Formation / Anton Romanov / 2015


Chapter 1: Management 101
Management is defined as the organization or coordination of the activities of a business in order to achieve defined objectives. Management includes: Teamwork Communication Objective setting Performance appraisal.

It can also be said that management is the process of identifying problems and resolving conflicts within a team in order to increase productivity and create an adequate work environment for all individuals. Management is both art and science. The primary goal of this type of management is to create a meaningful experience.


Chapter 2: Principles of Management
Division of work
Authority and responsibility: With authority, the superiors have the ability to issue their commands, but responsibility means they have to accept the consequences of their commands (good or bad).
Discipline: It refers to obedience and acceptable conduct between all people in the workplace.
Unity of command: According to this principle, subordinates should receive commands from one superior only. Receiving commands from more people creates confusion and decreases productivity which leads to conflict.
Unity of direction: All people who work within the same activity should pursue and understand the same objectives.
Subordination and individual interest: personal interests of individuals should never prevail over the interests of the company.
Remuneration: This management principle declares that workers should be paid sufficiently and the amount of money they receive should be: Fair Reasonable Rewarding of effort.
Degree of Centralization: Central management is the practice where the decision-making authority is always someone at the top management. Decentralization is the practice of sharing some authority with the lower levels. Adequate management and team leadership should incorporate both practices in proper balance.
Scalar chain: clearly defines everyone’s role which leads to increased productivity and a respectful workplace environment, which helps to lower conflicts.
Order: Social – ensures a stable work environment for people based on mutual respect which guarantees a fluid operation. Material – ensures efficiency and safety for all people.
Equity: A good manager is one that is fair, impartial, and who gives equal attention to all people in the team.
Stability of tenure and personnel: period of service should not be too short and that the members of the team, organization or company should not change positions frequently.
Initiative
Esprit de Corps: Team spirit leads to increased productivity.

Chapter 3: Management Styles
Directive or autocratic
 “Do what I tell you and as I tell you” attitude. This management style can be effective in some cases: When there is a crisis At the time of risky deviations. This management style is not effective when: Employees aren’t developed enough. Employees are highly educated and skilled
Authoritative or visionary
The manager is firm but fair Employees have a clear direction on what to do The manager provides detailed feedback about the employee’s performance in relation to certain tasks. Authoritative management style is effective when: Certain standards and clear directions are needed The manager is credible and competent to do the job. This management style is not effective when: Some employees are not developed The manager is not credible or competent to do the job.
Affiliative
 “People first, work second” type of manager Manager is focused on avoiding conflicts and creating a stable work environment Manager motivates workers by trying to make them happy. This management style is effective when: It is combined with other management styles The tasks that team members have are routine It also involves help and counseling There is a conflict that has to be resolved. This management style is not effective when: There are crisis situations that require better leadership The performance of the teams is not adequate. 
Participative or democratic
Manager allows the employees to take part in the decision-making process Manager motivates employees by rewarding team effort Everything is agreed by voting and prevalence of majority The communication is extensive in both directions (employees – managers and vice versa). This management style is effective when: All employees have to work together Employees are credible and have enough experience Work environment is steady. This management style is not effective when: Employees are not coordinated There is a serious crisis – there is no time to meet and listen to everyone’s input The task is competitive and requires closer supervision.
Pacesetting
Manager does a lot of the work Manager requires employees to follow his or her example Manager motivates employees by setting high standards. This management style is effective when: The work environment is highly competitive Employees are motivated The task does not require too much coordination Employees are experts in a certain business. This management style is not effective when: The task requires coaching, coordination, and development The task requires assistance from others.
Coaching or laissez-faire
The manager is dedicated to the development of employees The manager encourages employees and helps them improve their performance The manager provides professional opportunities in order to motivate employees. This management style is effective when: The type of task requires development of skills Employees are motivated. This management style is not effective when: The manager doesn’t have enough expertise to develop employees There is a crisis in the company The performance is not at a high enough level.
Other management styles
Consultative, Persuasive, Chaotic, Management By Walking Around (MBWA), Asian paternalistic
One management style cannot be appropriate for all problems and situations that can occur; therefore having versatile management styles is the key.

Chapter 4: The Purpose of Management
Incorporating quality management with quality performance usually results in success of the business.
According to Fayol the purpose of management is to: Organize, Plan and forecast – the “flow” of the process,
Control, Command, Coordinate

Chapter 5: The Importance of Management for Business Success
Management can make or break a business. Management includes strategic planning, managing resources, setting objectives, motivating employees, and deploying financial assets. Effectiveness is the relationship between the goals set by the manager and the team that is supposed to achieve these goals. Efficiency refers to the association between the achievement of the goals and resources.

Chapter 6: Managerial Roles
Informational managerial roles: Monitor, Disseminator, Spokesperson
Interpersonal managerial roles: Figurehead, Leader, Liaison
Decisional managerial roles: Entrepreneur, Disturbance handler, Resource allocator, Negotiator

A good manager of a team or entire business can never assume one role. These roles overlap and it is up to the manager to learn how to balance them and manage the team or company effectively. According to Mintzberg, the ideal manager is the one who implements various management styles and roles according to the situations, tasks, and team members.

Chapter 7: Why is Teamwork Important
Teamwork doesn’t mean that everybody within that team is doing the same thing. It means that it is a process where the sum is greater than the parts. Every team member has his or her own task and works together with the rest of the team to achieve one goal - success.

Chapter 8: How to Be a Good Leader
Good team leaders are compassionate and possess integrity, but they also educate and are informed about the qualities they should possess and manners they should use when managing their teams.
Communication, Organization, Confidence, Respect, Fairness, Integrity, Influence/Commitment, Delegation,  Facilitation, Negotiation, Positive attitude, Creativity 

Chapter 9: Delegation
Delegation is defined as the reassignment of authority or responsibility to another person (usually from manager to team member).
When you are deciding whether to delegate, consider:
Time – whether you have enough time for delegation.
Availability – whether someone is available to perform that task.
Criticality – whether the task is critical to the success of the project or business.

How to delegate?
Delegation requires high communication skills in order to explain to employees what is expected of them.
Clarify expectations – you should be able to explain to the team member to whom you delegate what you need from that person and why that work is important.
Request updates – in order to make sure the person to whom you have delegated the task is performing it according to the plan, you should establish checkpoints.
Delegate the task, not the process. As a good manager, you should always strive to focus on the result of the process, not the process itself.
Define your own role – before you delegate the task, you should explain to the team member how much support you will provide.
Explain the consequences – prior to delegating, you should explain what the end result of the task would mean.

To whom to delegate
Organizational structure – you should always delegate to people who work for you.
Staff buy-in – depending on the task, you should include the entire staff in discussion about the delegation.
Team vs. individual – some tasks can be conducted by one person. However, some tasks require more people.
Competency – in order to delegate successfully, you should make sure the person to whom you delegate is competent and credible.

Chapter 10: How to Earn Trust from Team Members
You can’t make employees trust you; you have to earn their trust.
Build rapport, Diplomatic approach, Establish your credibility-people trust managers who don’t only tell them what to do, but who teach them how to improve, Resolve conflicts, Be a good communicator-you should also try to get to know the people on your team, Empower the team

Chapter 11: How to Build Trust Within the Team
How the team members lose trust
Inconsistency – there is nothing that can confuse or frustrate people more than inconsistency. When there is a lot of inconsistency within the team, people are frustrated and that increases the rates of conflict, Seeking personal gain, Withholding information, Lies, Close-mindedness-All the points mentioned above can result in conflicts or with an unstable and hostile work environment and it is the manager’s job to resolve these issues.

How to build the trust within the team
Motivate all team members to finish all tasks successfully which will restore consistency in the group. Always stress to the team members that interests of the overall business are a priority and you, as a manager, will never prioritize personal gain, and that team members should follow this example. You, as the manager of the team, should provide the same quantity of information to all team members. Lies and deceptions on the workplace should never be tolerated, and you should deal with these situations according to the rules or codes already determined by the business’ policy. One of the roles of managers is to make sure that all team members express their opinions or beliefs. Managers should also point out and prove to team members that their success (and success of the business overall) depends on their mutual collaboration and respect that is based on trust.
A good manager is the manager who makes all team members feel included in the workplace and has to make sure all members realize they are equal. The manager’s job is also to provide the purpose for the team members.

Chapter 12: How to Manage Teams
Team management problems: Lack of trust, Fear of conflict, Lack of commitment, Avoidance and accountability, Inattention to results,
Elements of a healthy team: Cohesive leadership-This also shows that the team is united and the entire business is heading in the same direction, Effective communication, Common goal, Defined team roles
Fixing problems in the team: Various team building activities-Back to back drawing, Human knot. Volunteering, Physical activities , Field trips, Share meals-managers should allow all members of their teams to go to coffee break or lunch break together. Having an analytical thinker also helps build and maintain the balance in the team. An analytical thinker is the person who pays attention to every detail; something that other people (even you) could miss.
Basic team management skills: Plan-Good management is based on thorough planning. Without a good plan, you will not be able to succeed, Organize, Direct, Monitor

Chapter 13: Common Management Mistakes
Not providing feedback- It is the manager’s job to check the members’ performance and provide the feedback.
Not having time for the team.The manager is the one who is supposed to lead the team and you should always find time for the members.
Too relaxed attitude- The best solution is to incorporate different management styles according to the specific situation.
Failing to define goals- One of the most important aspects of the manager’s job is to be able to define all goals clearly. Team members, employees, etc. should be able to understand what you want from them.
Lack of dedication and commitment

Conclusion
The final advice for you is not to be afraid of stating your own opinion and making your own decisions. You are the manager and as a manager, you should be able to work in the best interests of the business.

2 Aralık 2018 Pazar

amazon highlights: The Success Factory / Frank McKinley / 2015


Zig Ziglar said it well, “Failure is an event, not a person. Yesterday ended last night. Today is a new day, and it’s yours.”

Chapter 1: Vision and the Law of the Harvest If You Don't Plant it, How Can It Grow?
What Do You Want in Life? What you plant, you harvest. What you reap, you sow. There's really no way to violate this law and get the results you want. It is crucial to have the right vision. Whatever your picture is determines your outcome. If you want to share your art with the world, you have to ship. Everything worth having has its dues. Pay them if you would have what you want.

Chapter 2: 4 Simple Secrets That Will Absolutely Guarantee Your Growth
Unless you stretch, you won't grow. So What Holds Us Back?

Stay Busy: The number one enemy of growth is boredom. Think of it as putting gas in your energy tank!

Hang Out With Other Stretchers: We can't help but reflect the mood of the person we're interacting with. People who stretch themselves are those who constantly test the limits of their capabilities. Stretchers know that growth can be tough. So they encourage each other along the way.

Take on Challenges: Stretchers know that life is boring when the bar stays low.

Be a Serial Stretcher: Sometimes you'll need to do something totally different with your life. Commit to keep growing. Always have something in your life that is improving.

Chapter 3: What You Should Do to Make Your Dreams Come True
Helen Keller said, "The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision." Zig Ziglar made an interesting observation about this phenomenon. You might say she was born in 1950, died in 1988, and was buried in 2015.

The Reasons That Dreams Die: First, your friends might think you're crazy. Second, we might not be that inspired. Third, we don't want to fail.

How to Make Your Dreams Come True: First, nurture your ideas. Dreams are essential to life. Start writing those random ideas down if they speak to you. As you collect good ideas, you'll probably find some connections forming between them. Second, see the possibilities your idea presents. Find a mentor and share your ideas with him. This is the step that lays the foundation for making your dream come true. Third, sell yourself on your dream. When we're willing to invest our own resources in what we believe in, then we're really sold. Think of your dream as your spouse - that you promise to stay with until the end.     That's the level of commitment you need to make your dream real.

What Commitment to Your Dream Will Do For You: First, you'll share it with others. If it's a big dream, it will make the world a better place for people. Second, your vision will define what's important. Third, chasing your dream will make you stronger. Commit yourself today to cast a vision you can live for. It will make all the difference in your quality of life.

Chapter 4: 3 Steps That Will Move You From Vision to Reality
Opportunity Knocks - If You Can See It: First, you have to believe that what you want is possible. When you can see something so well that you firmly believe it, you'll be able to see opportunities to make it come true. Second, you have to want a solution to a problem. Third, you have to be willing to commit to work for that solution. "seeing is believing." "I'll see it when I believe it." When you have a dream that moves you, you begin to see it coming true in the world you live in. Then hope will give you the energy and enthusiasm you need to make the dream real.

Stick Your Neck Out - Sharing the Vision with Others: Tell other people your vision.

Carpe Diem - Seize the Day: if you don't take action on your vision, it will fail. It's not enough to get started and run out of gas before you leave your neighborhood. Just remember that anyone can perspire if they put in the work. Anyone can succeed if they follow the right path to the end.

Chapter 5: How to Face and Kill a Giant
Why Don't We Face Our Giants? First, we don't think we can beat the giant. Second, we don't know how to beat the giant. Third, we'd rather run and hide than face the giant.

Seven Tactics to Beat Your Giants: Pray About It, Ask For Help, Be a Risk Taker, Plan to Win, Expect Obstacles and Criticism, Expect to Win. Zig Ziglar said it well. "You were born to win, but to be a winner, you must plan to win, prepare to win, and expect to win." Stare Fear in the Eye

Chapter 6: The Key to Creating Big Results
Take a look at yourself. What is your gift? What is it that people look to you to provide? Is it leadership? Wisdom? Or is it a special skill at which you excel?

A team is like a body. It has a lot of parts that don't do the same things. Arms can't see. Ears can't walk. Feet can't smell (or maybe they can!). When all these parts work together though, the whole body can do a lot of amazing things. When every team member shares his talents with others, the team is exponentially stronger than any group of disconnected individuals could ever be.

How can you use your strengths to make the world around you a better place?


amazon highlights: Goal Setting / Martin Kaye / 2017


1. Introduction
Psychology was about finding what is wrong with you. The problem was, that we knew very little about things like happiness, success, goal achievement, positive habits, motivation, and so on. First, I will go over the three major flaws of a lot of the advice that can be found out there:

* The advice is anecdotal. This is advice that is coming from a “this worked for me, so it must work for you” perspective. While this could be the case, more often than not the person giving the advice lacks a complete understanding of why it worked for them.  “positive thinking”, or “just do it”-type of advice. Yes, that works great…! If you know how to do it!! Their realization is that “positive thinking works!”. But for the person on the receiving end, advice such as “Think positive!”, or “Just do it!”, may be as useful as someone telling them to “grow taller”. Personally I’d love to do that, I just wish that they could also explain to me how I can do it…

* The advice lacks evidence that supports it. This is the case with a lot of the conventional wisdoms out there that hasn’t been tested scientifically. The biggest traps lie in advice that really “feels right” – or worse, it “feels good” – but where the truth actually lies in the opposite direction.

* The advice is incomplete or over-simplified. This is somewhat related to the first point. Often when people give advice (again including people with lengthy experience in the field of giving advice), they are not fully aware of the other factors that also affected their outcome. But even in the case of science there is often a lack of user-friendly, step-by-step, complete systems. The science of motivation doesn’t really touch on the science of habits, or the science of willpower. And the science of happiness doesn’t really go into detail about goal setting. And so on.

2. Write it down!
 “Paper is to write things down that we need to remember. Our brains are used to think.” ~ Albert Einstein
The first scientific principle behind successful goal setting that I will explain, is about the importance of writing your goals down, using a pen and a workbook. Gail Matthews, PhD at Dominican University, therefore set out to test the hypothesis. she did find that people who write down their goals achieve significantly more, regardless of the nature of their goal, than those who just keep it all in their head. writing things down with pen and paper is more efficient than typing it into a document on a computer. The conclusion: Writing down your goals, as well as other things related to your goal achievement process, in a physical workbook, journal, or diary, will increase your success rate.

3. Know Thyself
Self-awareness is integral to goal setting.
Seligman’s research: three main takeaways from his research, which can be used when we are setting our goals.

* The research shows that people who use their unique strengths in their life are happier and more satisfied with their life than those who do not. * The research also shows that people who use their unique strengths make more progress towards their goals. * Finally, the research shows that people who use their strengths for a purpose greater than their own goals are happier than those who don’t.
In order to maximize your chances of reaching your goal(s), you should identify your individual strengths and then make sure that you utilize them in your journey towards your goal. If you do this successfully, you will also become happier. And if you really want to take it to the ultimate level, you want to make sure that your goals involve some form of contribution to others.

4. Be Happy
 “Happiness is not about making it to the peak of the mountain, nor is it about climbing aimlessly around the mountain: happiness is the experience of climbing toward the peak” ~ Tal Ben-Shahar
Everyone can learn to be happier. People who pursue goals are happier than those who do not. Happiness involves both pleasure and meaning. Working hard towards a future goal while making certain sacrifices, yet still making sure to sprinkle in happiness activities throughout your daily life. Finding a goal that you truly enjoy working towards. In essence, what this tells us, is to choose goals that make us happy, and give us both pleasure and meaning, whether we achieve them or not. If we can do this, we can move from becoming happy, to being happy.

5. The Truth About Motivation
The fact is that motivation is fickle. It comes and goes, and there is little we can do about it in the way of applying mental processes to it. Trying to “get motivated” is, simply put, a wild goose chase.
The questions are then: 1) How can we feel more motivated, more often, and for longer time periods once that feeling comes over us? And 2) what are we supposed to do during the times when we don’t “feel it”? The solution to the first question lies in something called Temporal Motivation Theory (TMT). TMT boils down motivation to a very simple equation.

Motivation = (Expectancy x Value) / (Impulsiveness x Delay)

Expectancy – This is how likely you think you are to achieve a particular goal. By adjusting the goal, i.e. making it easier to reach, or by building your confidence, you can increase your expectancy, and thus increase your motivation.

Value – This is how much the outcome means to you. By reflecting on your goals and what they actually mean to you, what pleasure and meaning you will get out of reaching them, and adjusting them to make them more valuable to you, you can increase your motivation.

Impulsiveness – This is how likely we are to get off track when being distracted by various shiny objects. By working on strengthening your willpower and by removing or reducing distractions, you can increase your motivation.

Delay – This is how far into the future the reward, or outcome, lies. Have you ever felt slightly more motivated by, for example, studying for an exam that is tomorrow, than for one that is in two weeks? By designing goals with the short-term in mind, or by breaking down your long-term goals into sequential short-term goals and then shift your focus to these, you can increase your motivation.
But what about the second question? The solution to this lies in establishing behaviors that run on auto-pilot, so that desirable tasks and actions gets carried out whether we feel like doing them or not. I am sure you are familiar with this concept: It’s called Habits. if you can shift your focus from “trying to get yourself motivated” to identifying the smallest specific habit that is required for you to reach your goal(s), you will already have come a long way.

6. The Positive Thinking Myth
Gabrielle Oettingen, in her research at New York University and the University of Hamburg, has, through over 25 years of rigorous studies, showed that the more time people spend on visualizing having achieved their goal, the less likely they are to actually take action towards that goal. The more time people spend on visualizing having achieved their goal, the less likely they are to actually take action towards that goal. So shift your focus from your goals to the process, including the obstacles and challenges ahead of you, and how you can overcome them.

7. Daily Routines
 “The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.” ~ John C. Maxwell
Studies at MIT University show that the most effective ways to create a new habit, or to change existing habits, and get them to run on auto-pilot, is to create a routine that is tied to the same time or scenario each and every time. our self-control is the highest in the morning. your morning sets the tone for the rest of the day, your evenings set the tone for your mornings!

25 Kasım 2018 Pazar

amazon highlights: Get More Done In Less Time / Beau Norton / 2014


Intrinsic Motivation : If you focus more on the long term rewards and less on the current drudgery, you can much more easily motivate yourself to do unpleasant tasks.

Goal Setting : Setting goals is an extremely effective way to motivate yourself on a daily basis. Most importantly, write your goals down on paper so that you can read them every day. Be as specific as possible when writing your goals. Instead of saying something like “I will be a millionaire,” say “I will have 1 million dollars in my bank account on December 31, 2018.” Set both short and long term goals. The long term goals (1-5 years or more) will supply you with a steady, low-level motivation, while the short term goals will be able to provide you with high energy bursts of motivated effort. Start with goals that are very easily achievable for you, such as daily tasks that take no longer than 20 minutes to complete. The bigger the time frame for completing the goal, the more unrealistic it should seem to you. shorter term goals (1 day – 1 year) should be more realistic and easy for you to believe in. re-write your goals every single day. Goals don’t just give you something to aim for; they give you something to BECOME. You see, by reminding yourself of your goals every single day, you are literally programming your brain with the images correlated with your specific goals. When you BECOME what you desire, you will HAVE what you desire.

Visualization : law of attraction is: You attract what you think about (visualize) most often. We live in a world where “working hard” is praised and encouraged, but how far can hard work take us when our MIND isn’t right? how you think determines how you act, which invariably affects the results you. get in your life. Thought/Emotion > Action > Results. We, as humans, tend to attract into our lives the things and situations that we hold in our minds most often and with the most amount of detail, so it is safe to say that our goals can be more easily achieved by picturing them in our minds as already completed. If we do this on a daily basis and imagine our future selves with extreme detail, then it is absolutely possible for us to create exactly that which we desire. People who succeed tend to spend more of their time imagining what they desire and feeling the emotions associated with that image. People who fail tend to spend more of their time imagining the LACK of what they desire, and feeling the worry and disappointment associated with that image. It’s all in the mind. Learn how to think and ALL becomes possible…

Self-talk : Your priority is what you set out to do in the first place! Have integrity and finish what you start. This is what I want you to do the next time you get distracted by your thoughts: Stop, take a deep breath, and remind yourself of all the benefits you will receive by completing the task that you began. Productivity requires FOCUS. When you find yourself getting distracted, close your eyes and take one or more deep breaths. This will effectively “reset” your brain and prepare it to accept the coming motivational phrase or re-focusing thought. Follow the deep breath with a positive phrase of your choice that reminds you of your end goal and evokes the emotion of having completed the task before you. This phrase can be said silently or out loud, but it should be said with enthusiasm and passion. The tonality that you use will determine how effective the statement is for motivating you. The statement must remind you of your PURPOSE for doing the task in the first place, and this purpose must be significant enough to motivate you at least slightly. If you have absolutely no good reason to complete the task, why are you wasting your time? This may not work every time, mostly because the mind is not an easy thing to tame, but continue to practice recognizing distracting thoughts when they come up. The more aware you become, the more power you will have to consciously create your life and get stuff done!

Time Management:
Morning Routine :
Here are a few things that you might consider incorporating into your personal routine: *Exercise (highly recommend) *Healthy meal (highly recommend) *Meditation or breathing exercises (highly recommend) *Writing or Journaling Reading Listening to audio books *Expressing gratitude . Do not overwhelm yourself by trying to incorporate too many things into your morning routine right away. Start with one thing at a time (10 minutes of exercise perhaps), and then add something else after 30 days or so. Remember, how you start your day is how you end your day. Start your days off in a productive way so you can go to sleep every night feeling satisfied and hopeful for the days to come.

Eliminating Distractions : consider eliminating some distractions from your life if you plan to become a happier and more productive person. A few simple changes to your work environment can make all the difference. first suggestion would be to make sure that your work environment is clean and tidy. If you work in an office, then keep your desk neat and organized. Before you leave your office for the day, spend 5 or 10 minutes to tidy it up so that you can be more focused and productive to start the next day. next suggestion – a very important one to consider – is to remove all distracting technology from your work environment. Did you know that when a person is distracted from their work, it takes on average 20 minutes for them to regain focus and get back to what they were previously doing? 20 minutes of lost time adds up very quickly. If you want to get more done, your work environment needs to be free of the beeps and buzzes of modern technology. People can be some of the worst distractions. A simple “hello” can turn into a 15 minute conversation. Make sure people know not to distract you when you are working. Politely tell them that you will be unavailable between certain hours that you’ve chosen.

Productive Time Blocks : The 50-10-50 method is designed to synchronize your periods of productivity with the natural cycles of your mind and body. Using this method, you would simply work for 50 minutes straight, take a 10 minute break, work for another 50 minutes, and then take a 30-45 minute break. Repeat this cycle as many times as needed to complete whatever task you are working on. The reason that you work in 50 minute time blocks is because the mind cannot focus for much longer than that before it requires a rest. 10 minutes of rest is plenty to restore the mind to full capacity, however, that 10 minutes must be spent resting, not filling your mind with more distractions. During the 10 minute rest interval, take some deep breaths, relax, and try to think about pleasant things, or nothing at all. If you spend this time in deep relaxation, the next 50 minute work interval will go very smoothly. During your 30-45 minute rest (after two 50 minute sessions) is a good time to check your email, cell phone, and whatever else you need to tend to, but it’s important to not allow those things to interrupt you during your 50 or 10 minute intervals. The 50-10-50 method is perfect for maximizing productivity, because it limits distractions and maximizes focus by providing adequate rest periods. You may enjoy the 90-30 method if you are better at focusing for longer periods of time, but many people find it difficult to work for 90 minutes straight with a clean focus. It really works. Why does it work so well? Because it forces you to focus and be consistent. These 2 skills alone will take you far in life, and the 50-10-50 and 90-30 methods are two of the very best for honing them. experiment with both the 50-10-50 and 90-30 methods. Compare the results from each and decide which one is most effective for increasing your productivity and allowing you to keep your stress levels low.

Creating Incentives : There are two extremely effective ways to use incentives to drive you towards your goal: reward systems and fear systems. Pleasure and fear are the greatest motivators. Fear pushes you forward. Pleasure pulls you. Both are effective. Using one or the other will help you reach your goals faster, but using a combination of both is recommended.

Reward Systems : Reward systems only work to motivate you if the reward is earned and you genuinely feel that you deserve it. Having a reward system set up for yourself will make you actually want to be more productive, because you know that you will be rewarded for it. It’s a great way to motivate yourself to do unpleasant tasks. The “pleasure” of the reward makes the “pain” of the task worth it. the reward can only be received when the task is completed. It cannot be awarded to you for any other reason, or else it will lose all its power to motivate you. Humans are naturally programmed to pursue pleasure. That is why reward systems work so well, however, there is something that is even more motivating than pleasure…Fear.

Fear Systems : Did you know that humans are twice as likely to move away from what they fear as they are to move towards what they desire? To use fear as a motivator, it will help to have an accountability partner. This person should be someone that you trust. They will ensure that you stick to your word and follow through with what you say you are going to do. You can use the fear of losing money to motivate yourself to achieve almost any goal, and this is how you do it: Go to your accountability partner, tell them your goal and the amount of time you are allowing yourself to complete it, and then write them a blank check for $1,000 (or an amount that you would be extremely scared to lose). Tell the person that if you do not have your goal completed by the specified time, they should go to the bank immediately, cash the check, and spend the money on themselves. Make sure the person knows that under no circumstances should they give the money back to you, unless the goal is achieved in the allotted time. How’s that for some motivation? Do this for all the important tasks or projects that you need to complete, and you will never miss a deadline or fail to reach a goal again. Fear is the best motivator. Use it! You don’t have to use money, although it is probably the most effective tool for creating motivation from fear. Another great motivator is the fear of embarrassing yourself in public. For even greater results, use the power of fear and pleasure combined. Punish yourself (in a healthy way) when you fail to achieve your goals, and reward yourself when you achieve your goals on time. If you use fear and reward systems consistently for all your goals, you will find yourself receiving far more rewards than punishments.

Publicizing Intentions : Another simple yet powerful way to motivate yourself is to publicize your intentions. In other words, tell as many people as possible about what you plan to do.

Building Momentum : Momentum is a powerful force. Once you start to gain some, you’ll take off at a high rate of speed. Building momentum involves something called the “law of compounding,” which states that one thing performed over and over again will create a “snowball effect” that leads to exponential increases in all that is involved, whether it be achievements, income, spiritual or physical growth, or all of the above.

Reframing Beliefs : Faith is synonymous with “belief.” It is very crucial that you believe in your ability to achieve all of your goals and grandest desires. Nothing great was ever created without belief (faith). spend a small amount of time every day alone and in silence. don’t take your thoughts too seriously. Since your negative thoughts really never serve you anyway, simply choose to let go of them and replace them with more positive and empowering thoughts.

The Small Things:
The small things make all the difference. The journey to the mountain top begins with a single step upward. Of course, keep the image of the larger goal in mind, but focus the majority of your attention on the tasks you can complete now. The present moment is all you ever have, and it’s where all the magic happens.  “6 Wins.” Simply put, it is a series of 6 small tasks that I perform on a daily basis no matter what. These tasks take me less than 2 hours per day to complete, and 3 of them take less than 5 minutes each. Committing myself to completing all 6 of them every single day has increased my productivity dramatically. Your “6 Wins” don’t even need to take 2 hours to complete. They can be as small as you’d like them to be, as long as they are things that improve your life in some way. Please take some time today to sit down and plan out your 6 wins. You should start with simple tasks that you know you’ll have no problem completing. You can add to the list over time as you create new habits.

Mastermind Groups : You can surely achieve great things all by yourself, but your journey will be much easier if you allow others to help you. Two minds working in harmony is always better than a single mind. Cooperative effort can yield incredible results that would take one person at least twice the time to accomplish. Finding like-minded people that have similar goals will help you greatly. Ideas will spread and ignite new ideas in the minds of everyone involved. A group of like-minded people working towards similar goals in a cooperative effort is called as “mastermind group,” and you should consider creating or joining one. A mastermind group can contain as few or as many people as you’d like. Your group should meet at least once every couple weeks to discuss new ideas, give suggestions and input, share goals, and support each other. Structure the group in a way that allows everyone an equal opportunity to share with the group. You will find that sharing with and hearing from others that share your interests is a great way to inspire and motivate yourself to achieve more. Never think that you can do it all alone. At some point, no matter who you are, you will need the help of other people in order to achieve your goals. Better to gain that support in the beginning rather than scrambling to find it when you really need it.

Enjoying the Process : Life is a journey, not a destination. No matter how far you get, you will always want to go further, so you might as well enjoy every step.