David Findel | Strategicperformance

Posted on April 11, 2016

Do you want it, or do you just want to talk about it?

Posted on February 18, 2016

What have you done so far?

We are 1171 hours into the year.

In case you didn’t realize it, there is only 8760 hours left this year.

The average person sleeps 2555 hours a year.

That leaves a little over 5000 hours for the balance of the year.

WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH THAT TIME???

The following items can help you make the most of every hour of every day.

Plan your week out before it starts

Making a plan of your week ahead of time eliminates wasteful activities throughout the day. It usually takes between 1-2 hours each week to plan out your week. Choose the same time and location each week, and play your favorite music or treat yourself to a special food while you make your schedule. This way, you eventually end up establishing your planning time as a habit, and it becomes an activity that you look forward to.

Get important things done first every day

Although you may be used to starting your day with a leisurely cup of coffee and reading a slew of emails, you are wasting the most powerful part of your sales day. A recent study showed that over a third of workers and salespeople are at their most productive between 9am and 11am.

Cut out distractions

First, you need to know exactly how much time you’re losing to distractions and when you’re most likely to go off-track. Take a few days and audit your time. How much time are you spending on social media? Non-work phone calls? Are you more distracted when you’re hungry? How much of your day is spent reading and answering emails?

After you’ve observed your own behavior, you can create a plan that helps you be more on-task during the day. Turn off e-mail notifications and social media pings during your times of weakest focus.

Focus on results-oriented activities (the 80/20 principle)

Mentally go through your daily responsibilities. Which ones have the highest conversion rate? Which ones have proven to lead to long-term investments from clients? Which ones make up the bulk of your income? Whittle that list down to the top 3-5 tasks. That is your 20% that brings in 80% of your business.

Do one thing (or, one type of thing) at a time by batching tasks

When someone asks you how to be more productive, your gut instinct might be to suggest multitasking. Unfortunately, multitasking is simply counterproductive.

Don’t try, Don’t think about every possible roadblock… Just do It!

After you planned a course of action, take action.

At the end of the day all that needs to be done is for you to sit down, write out a plan, then work the plan. Focus and make the most out of every hour of every day. Don’t waste time THINKING you are productive. Get results.

Act now and make the best of every day.

Posted on January 19, 2016

“Changing Lives and Enhancing Business in 2016”

SPG hit the news again.

The 2016 boot camp was life changing for most who attended. Here is what is being talked about.

“By far the best seminar I have ever attended. David is insightful, direct but compassionate, and, yes, highly motivational. He gets you to believe that anything is possible and helps you build the road map to achieve your dreams.”

“David’s Boot Camp provided a critical mind shift to kick start the New Year.”

“I learned priceless strategies in achieving my goals. David Findel shares his arsenal of necessary tools in cultivating a leader and developing entrepreneurial empowerment.”

“David has awoken the hidden tiger that I didn’t know was living inside me.”

David’s motivation has brought out the very best in me.”

Read all about it in;

Posted on January 11, 2016

Do you need a coach? Forbes says…

As seen in Forbes:

Why You Need To Hire A Coach In 2016

Do you have a coach?

If not, you could be limiting your career success. That’s because coaches help you identify and focus on what’s important, which accelerates your success.

• Create a safe environment in which people see themselves more clearly;

• Identify gaps between where the client is and where the client needs or wants to be.

• Ask for more intentional thought, action and behavior changes than the client would have asked of him or herself.

• Guide the building of the structure, accountability, and support necessary to ensure sustained commitment.

Successful athletes obviously understand the power of coaching. The United Kingdom Coaching Strategy describes the role of the sports coach as one that “enables the athlete to achieve levels of performance to a degree that may not have been possible if left to his/her own endeavors.” Innovative companies understand that coaching can help career-minded professionals increase their performance at work. They invest in coaching for their senior leaders and high potentials. (For more on this, read the section on why coaching is not just for executives anymore in my report on personal branding trends for 2015.)

Coaching also has an impact on an organization’s financial performance;

According to an ICF and HCI study, 60% of respondents from organizations with strong coaching cultures report their revenue to be above average, compared to their peer group.

When it comes to building your personal brand, a coach can be a powerful resource who can help you get out of your own way, stand out, and take action to achieve the things that are truly important to you. Your coach can help you:

1. Get clear about your goals. Your company may be pulling you in one direction, while your managers are giving you different advice based on other criteria. Your coach will help you determine what’s really important to you and help you stay focused on that.

2. Identify blind spots. Coaches help you figure out what you don’t know, and they clue you in to things you may not be able to see. They will be honest with you because they are not vested in any specific outcome.

3. Be accountable. Coaches keep you on track and moving forward toward new levels of achievement. For many of us, having someone we answer to motivates us to act.

4. Focus your development efforts. Coaches help you know the difference between weaknesses you need to fix and those that are best left as they are. This can help you invest time and energy only in the most fruitful opportunities.

5. Gain a competitive advantage. A coach can help you get from point A to B faster than you could on your own, helping you differentiate yourself from the pack and advance your career at a quicker clip.

6. Acquire leadership skills. Coaches model skills that are valuable for today’s leaders. After you work with a coach for a while, you can start to adopt those powerful questioning techniques, which helps you become a better listener. This is just one of the many ways you can integrate a coaching style into your own leadership approach.

7. Increase engagement. A recent Gallup study revealed that just 13% of employees worldwide are engaged at work. Yet according to a study done by HCI and the ICF, coaching correlates with increased employee engagement; 65% of employees from companies with strong coaching cultures rated themselves as highly engaged.

8. Feel happier. Because coaches help you identify and align your values, create a focus, cut through clutter, and clear tolerations, they help you increase your professional fulfillment. Simply put, a coach will help you stoke your success. How much is that worth to you?

Also, some leadership development programs come with coaching components. So sign up for those if you can. It’s a great way to experience coaching.

Make the investment in yourself. It will pay off in clarity, happiness and increased success. Think of coaching as an investment, not an expense.

Posted on January 7, 2016

The Top Ten Rules of Success

Identify what you want

After you have written out your goals and broken them down to the daily activity you must maintain in order to achieve those goals, dig deep. Look deep within your soul and identify what you want out of life. What is your WHY? Why do you do the things you are about to do? Why are you going to live such a disciplined life rather than laying on a beach all day every day? What is your “End game”? Identify, plan, and take action.

Maintain unwavering passion and energy

Once you identify your “why”, go after it as if it is all you have. Live life with the intensity and passion needed so when something happens (and something always happens) it will not shake you. It will not take you off track. It will simply be another obstacle that will make you wiser, stronger and stimulate your unwavering passion to succeed where others have failed.

Focus on your vision

Keep your eye on the prize. Break things down to a granular level and achieve each of the individual tasks in order to build up to the ultimate goal. Keep the end in mind and never waiver on your mission.

Stay true to yourself and value system

Each of us has our own need and greed. We have our way of getting it. Do not justify why things happen, own it. It is never someone else’s fault. You control your own individual universe. If you communicate your needs, desires and wants to everyone around you, they will act accordingly. If you don’t, they will not know and at best they are going to guess, then act the way they want to act, not the way you want them to. Control your world around you. Live life on the path of your vision and act accordingly.

Surround yourself with like-minded people

When you live your life according to your vision, you must surround yourself with like-minded people. The naysayers will try to drag you down. The jealous people will always have something to say. The mediocre people will put their two cents in and claim it can’t be done. Hire the right people that can identify with your vision. Average people allow time to impose its will on them; exceptional people impose their will on their time.

Be sincere – Don’t do it for the money

No amount of money will ever make you wealthy. Because when you make the money that you set out to make, you will ratchet up the amount. Do what you enjoy. Embrace the obstacles and tackle your fears. Then and only then will you achieve your individual success. The dividend will be the money. Money is the way most of society keeps score. Wealth is achieved when you are the best you can be. Not a diluted fraction of a person because you worked 15 hours a day and made a pile of money. Be sincere in every aspect of your life and the wealth will follow. Make the mistakes along the way, fall on your sword and move on. Don’t dwell on the past, you can’t change that. Make today everything you want. Look to the future and achieve everything you set out to do and you will get what you want out of it.

Work on yourself

Life is fluid, you must always evolve. Read, learn and identify with what is going on around you, as well as the world. Know who you are and what makes you tick. Have someone in your life that you can bounce ideas off of, share your vision and goals, a person that will keep you accountable and keep you on course.

Never procrastinate

Do what needs to be done. Do it NOW. Have a sense of urgency at all times. Don’t allow people to give you their time line, tell them what your expectations are. You cannot expect from people what you are not willing to do for yourself. Lead by example and act accordingly.

Never compromise

Always maintaining your character. In every aspect of your life, inclusive of business, family, social and relationships maintain your “standard”. Your standard is your individual characteristics. Identify your top three characteristics and always maintain them. If you find yourself veering away from them anytime, stop and re-align yourself with them. If you do not like who you are, FIX IT.

No excuses

Never ever let yourself off the hook. When you choose not to get out of bed, in order to work out, when you chose to not complete something you set out to do, when you do not follow your calendar, OWN IT. It’s your choice to make and you must live and die by the priorities you set for yourself. Prioritize what is most important for you and when it does not happen, own it and FIX IT. It is no one else’s fault but your own.

You are the master of your universe, as such you make it happen.

Posted on December 8, 2015

New Years Resolutions… What does January 15th hold for you?

https://youtu.be/fviFNrWKzZ8

Only 8% of People Achieve Their New Year’s Resolutions.

Here’s How YOU Can Do It.

Let me guess: You want to lose weight in 2016. Maybe you want to make more money. Perhaps you want to spend more time with your friends and family. You might even want to expand your business into a new area.

Self-improvement, or at least the desire for it, is a shared American hobby. It’s why so many of us—some estimates say more than 40% of Americans—make New Year’s resolutions. (For comparison, about one-third of Americans watch the Super Bowl.)

But for all the good intentions, only a tiny fraction of us keep our resolutions; University of Scranton research suggests that just 8% of people achieve their New Year’s goals.

Why do so many people fail at goal setting, and what are the secrets behind those who succeed? The explosion of studies into how the brain works has more experts attempting to explain the science behind why we make resolutions—and more relevantly, how we can keep them.

KISS – Keep it Simple (I assume you know the what the last “S” is)

Many people use the New Year as an opportunity to make large bucket lists or attempt extreme makeovers, whether personal or professional.

That’s a nice aspiration —but the average person has so many competing priorities that this type of approach is doomed to failure before it even begins. Essentially, shooting for the moon can be so psychologically daunting, you end up failing to launch in the first place.

So this year, Keep your resolution list short…

And it’s more sensible to set “small, attainable goals throughout the year, rather than a singular, overwhelming goal,” according to psychologist Lynn Bufka. “Remember, it is not the extent of the change that matters, but rather the act of recognizing that lifestyle change is important and working toward it, one step at a time…

Make it Tangible

Setting ambitious resolutions can be fun and inspiring, but the difficulty in achieving them means that your elation can quickly give way to frustration. That’s why goals should be bounded by rational, achievable metrics.

“It is much easier to follow a plan that says no potato chips, fries, or ice cream for six weeks.”

And be specific. Don’t say you’re “going to start going to the gym” in 2016—set a clear ambition, like attending a weekly spin class or lifting weights every Tuesday or Thursday.

“We say if you can’t measure it, it’s not a very good resolution because vague goals beget vague resolutions”

Make it Obvious

Charting your goals in some fashion, although there’s no universal strategy for success. For some, making a clear schedule and daily task is enough of a reminder; Utilize your calendar like outlook to build the perfect schedule to follow and success will be the result.

An strategic tactic: share your goals with your friends and family. It’s another way to build accountability, especially in the Facebook era.

Believe in yourself.

To be clear: Simply setting a goal does raise your chances of achieving that goal, significantly. But within weeks or months, people begin abandoning their resolutions as they hit bumps in the road that throw them off their stride. At the end of the day you MUST believe in yourself. Know whom you are inside. Know what you are capable of. Visualize yourself after you achieve your goal and all the ancillary things that come along with it.

“What the mind can perceive, it can and WILL achieve”

Posted on November 16, 2015

Year end is here… Are you prepared for a new one???

5 ways to transform your year end planning and new year’s resolutions into goals. But more importunately into a reality.

Now is the time when people do some year-end planning and begin to think about and set New Year’s Resolutions. However, I am not a big fan of most New Year’s Resolutions and here’s why:

There is typically no accountability.
They are rarely specific.
They are too easy to break.
They lack focus and clarity.
They typically don’t have timeframes and measurable milestones.

You can use this time of year to set specific goals for how you want the upcoming year to look. There is a process to set goals, and it is one that I have used for years. This is something that I have coached both individuals and large firms alike.

To help transform your resolutions into goals involves five easy steps and it doesn’t take a lot of time. However, these simple steps will help turn those non-specific resolutions into winning goals that are measurable, trackable, and most importantly result oriented.

Make the goal specific.

Many New Year’s Resolutions are not specific. They are too general. Examples include:

Lose weight;
Be a better spouse or parent;
Be a better leader.

The challenge with these is that there is no specific target to hit. Here are some ways to make the above goals specific:

Lose 15 pounds;
Plan specific days to spend alone with your spouse;
Build a hobby with your children that you do on a consistent basis.

Read one leadership book a quarter. (Start with Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, if you haven’t read it yet)

Create goals that are measurable.

As with the initial examples above, there is really no way to measure certain characteristics, like “more” or “better”. What does it mean to be a better leader? A better spouse? A better parent, etc.? How can you measure that? Again, it’s next to impossible.

On the other hand, 15 pounds is something that is specific and measurable. You know when you’ve lost it, and when you haven’t. You can check on your progress along the way. You can also measure if you’ve read a book quarterly dealing with leadership. That is something tangible that you can look at and know that you’ve accomplished (or haven’t).

Make sure the goals are attainable.

Often when resolutions are made, they are not attainable. There are two reasons for this: One is that not enough time is given to be able to achieve the desired results, as in losing weight. Two, many times, when setting goals, people are over-zealous for what they can achieve. Then, when they fail, they get discouraged and may give up on the process of goal-setting.

Planning out bite-sized steps to achieve each goal can be helpful. Creating a plan of action around each goal will help assure that each small step is completed on your way to completing the big goal!

Add some risk to each goal.

While you want goals that are measurable and attainable, I like to encourage people to put a little risk in the goals. There is a fine line here between risky goals and ones that are a bit too much. However, I tend to err on the side of adventurous goals that will excite.

When setting goals, in addition to having specific and measurable goals, add something to strive for in addition to the actual goal. For example, instead of just a goal of getting in shape or losing weight, add in the twist of making it publicly known. So people will call you out if you are eating junk food.

Make each goal time-sensitive.

Set an end date for each goal. Have a time frame that you will work with. For example, a specific financial goal. Set a time frame: Break it down to quarterly, monthly and weekly milestones. Measure your activity that creates the revenue daily. This way, if your activity begins to lag, you recognize it within a week and not after half the year is gone.

Having an indefinite goal for every day of the week more often than not is unattainable. Breaking the goal down into smaller segments can help to create more attainable wins as you look to accomplish bigger goals. Remember, goals are different than habits, but can be a great kick-start to formulating new habits.

Side notes;

Partner with someone for accountability.

Setting goals is great. However, being able to set them with someone and help keep each other accountable is a sure-fire way to increase the likelihood of staying on track.

Pair up with someone to help you reach your professional goals. Two are better than one!

Celebrate small and big victories alike.

As you complete action steps and each of your goals, take time to celebrate! This will boost your motivation and help you keep going. Decide ahead of time how and when you will celebrate your wins.

What other steps do you use to transform your goals? What goals have you set for this year?

Posted on October 23, 2015

Winning is a Habit

https://youtu.be/JjYeREIHCsw?t=11s

“A man can be as great as he wants to be. If you believe in yourself and have the courage, the determination, the dedication, the competitive drive, and if you are willing to sacrifice the little things in life and pay the price for the things that are worthwhile, it can be done.”

~Vince Lombardi

Right at this very moment, I want you to decide exactly what it is that you want out of life.

What kind of person do you want to be?

More importantly, how hard are you prepared to work to accomplish your goals?

Think of any prominent name: Michael Jordan, Babe Ruth, Steve Jobs, Albert Einstein. Who were they before they were someone? Some may have been well educated, some may have come from a good family, and some were middle class, others homeless, some even in debt. It doesn’t matter!!! Not everyone that is famous today was born to shine. What they all have in common was a belief that they COULD do what they were passionate about and they were willing to work harder than everyone else to achieve their goals.

Make a decision today that will shape your destiny. It’s not going to miraculously come to you. You can’t worry about what people think or say about you. Develop the skills you need to achieve your goals and work on them every single day and don’t stop until you no longer have to introduce yourself.

Commit to yourself TODAY…do not wait until tomorrow!!

STOP THE NOISE!!

Again, how hard are you prepared to work to accomplish your goals?

A positive start to your day will start with these five tools:

Wake up at 5:00 a.m. Wake up before anyone else. Use your alone time wisely.
Exercise – it will not only fuel your body but it will also fuel your mind.
Meditate – contemplate the universe, pray, gain inner peace, rejuvenate yourself. Use the time to help yourself grow spiritually and mentally.
Adjust your goals daily – get into the habit of working hard enough to accomplish some and to make room for new ones.
Gratitude – be grateful for the ability to wake up, be healthy enough to work hard and grateful for the people most important in your life.

“Leaders are made, they are not born. They are made by hard effort, which is the price which all of us must pay to achieve any goal that is worthwhile.”

~Vince Lombardi

Posted on October 9, 2015

Wake up!

What is the first thing you think of when you wake up in the morning?

The words and what you tell yourself are not only powerful but IMPACTFUL. With that said, keep in mind that if and only if you say them in the right way, will they change your mindset?

Wake up every morning with a purpose. You should have clear goals laid out on how you plan to carry on with the rest of your day from the moment you open your eyes. You should technically have the goals set up the night before because like I’m often heard saying, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” You need to develop the discipline necessary to focus and write down what needs to be done daily for the following day, the evening prior. As individuals, we make up a myriad of excuses as to why we didn’t write down our goals. Again, the word is discipline, because all success is built on discipline and consistency.

I’m tired of hearing about all the noise you tell yourself as to why you aren’t functioning at the level you should be. Give it up! I don’t care what happened yesterday, that’s the past. You were not born wealthy, so what? You had a bad childhood? Okay, you are all grown now. You made bad choices? Got it, make different ones today. I don’t want to hear the NOISE!!! What you do today will determine your future tomorrow. Write down and live your action plan, because I don’t want you just going through life, I want you to LIVE IT to the fullest!

You are basically living in fear and you don’t even know it. You don’t take risks because you are afraid, yet if you listen to what I’m telling you, you would realize that the antonym of fear is greatness and accomplishments. It’s your goals coming to fruition.

Go to sleep with a plan…..Wake up with a purpose!

Posted on September 16, 2015

“Anything the mind can perceive it can achieve”

https://youtu.be/xdfzEU5xY2M

Engage in the life YOU want.

“If it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you.” We’ve all heard that saying before but how many actually understand its meaning?

Who wants to extend themselves beyond their comfort zone? Of course no one wants to leave their comfort zone, because that would mean that our flaws would be visible to all those around us. Stress would enter our lives and even worse, if we fail, the embarrassment would set in.

STOP THE NOISE! Change your pre-conceived limits right now!

In life, MOST conform. MOST stay stagnant and MOST never stretch past their comfort zone. I’ve often said this and I will say it again…..

“Mediocrity is UNACCEPTABLE!!”

Most people do not understand that your beliefs and more importantly, the beliefs you have about yourself, will determine your behavior in the long run. Sure you can convince yourself to let’s say, go to the gym or eat healthy or better yet, start working on your goals list, but if you don’t shift your thinking, if you don’t actually push yourself, physically and mentally, then you will not be able to create long term growth and satisfaction.

I realize that on the surface you believe that you will stick to your desired goal, but this is simply not factual. YOU need to reach down deep. YOU need to go to the root of your desire. YOU need to realize that “Thing”, whatever that thing is that you are truly passionate about. YOU need to challenge yourself to take action today, NOW, so that your desire becomes the driving force and your mindset is so in tune with the belief that you can and will accomplish whatever you set out to do. Then and only then will nothing stand in your way.

Stop running away from challenges. Stop telling yourself the “Noise” of what is possible or not. Why it can not be done. Make it so that not only do things get done, but get done the way YOU want it to be done. You know that “to do” list that you have? Do the hard things first. Dream and do the things that scare you the most first. Then and only then will you grow, develop and satisfy your inner desire. Build an identity around that goal of yours. Stop looking for easy. EASY DOES NOT WORK! Easy will not get you the life of your dreams. Easy doesn’t allow your God given gifts and talents to shine through. Trust me, the things that you are passionate about will only begin to monetize when you challenge yourself.

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