At first glance one would not imagine a philosophical book regarding war would ever be perceived as a business read. However, like much of what I teach on a daily basis, the Art of War is about the way you should develop your mind and the way you process your thoughts. The way to strategically and mentally prepare yourself on a daily basis to “Remove the Noise” from all aspects of your life. Once you have achieved that, you can;
Set goals and DESIGN a plan of action.
Formulate the path of IMPLEMENTATION.
Put your plan into ACTION and build MOMENTUM.
Stabilize for measurable and sustainable GROWTH.
Finally, make it a way of life. A LIFE without noise and excuses that hold you back.
Our firms’ motto is; Mediocrity is unacceptable. I instill this value in one form or another, into each one of my clients programs. Not only because I want them to be the best, but for one reason and one reason only, because I know they have it in them to be the best! I know they have what it takes to accomplish the goals they set out for themselves. Otherwise I would never work with them.
We are never too old to start moving away from things that hold us back and to “Remove The Noise”…
While reading the paper I stumbled across the very essence of what I am talking about on a daily basis. His name is Cory Nieves, he is proof positive that we are surely never too young.
Cory Nieves is an impressive CEO. A stylish man to say the least and the poster child for NOT Accepting Mediocrity. When life handed him lemons, he didn’t make lemonade, he made hot cocoa and cookies and began an empire and he did it all by the ripe age of 10 years old.
How? … Why?…
He did this because he DID NOT accept mediocrity. When faced with the challenge of his mother not having a vehicle to drive him back and forth to school and enduring too many winter mornings waiting for public transportation, he developed a can do attitude, he didn’t accept his shortcomings and was determined to figure out a way.
Some may ask; Was he more fearless than others? Naive to failure? I do not have the answers for I do not know Mr. Nieves personally but I will say this, whatever fueled that fire within, he for sure DID NOT allow being a product of his environment to hold him back. He DID NOT allow noise to fester in his mind and more importantly, he DID NOT allow mediocrity to be a staple in his world.
To date, Corey Nieves has accomplished more than his original goal of getting his mother a car. Take a page from Cory’s book and never forget
Have you ever heard the term, Success is not accidental? Well you know what? …. IT ISN’T!
There are no shortcuts, more than likely you won’t win the lottery and above all, wishing for things or the right situation will not help you either.
Let me ask you, do you think that people that have good working relationships, or a great marriage, or are in good physical shape, all happened by accident or did they have measurable goals and a road map on how to attain their desires?
I can’t stress the importance of having goals and more importantly, WRITING THEM DOWN!
You need to see your goals in black and white. Go ahead, write them down now. Yes, stop reading for a moment and write down your top 5 goals, RIGHT NOW!
1.What are your career goals?
2.What are your relationship goals?
3.What are your health and fitness goals?
4.What are financial goals?
5.What are your spiritual goals?
Did you write them down? Are you holding them in front of you? Having your goals in your head is not enough. “Remove the Noise.” Stop all the excuses you tell yourself. You are not too old or not educated enough or whatever other road blocks you set up in your brain to help you procrastinate from doing what needs to be done to take you to the next level.
You may have a dream, you may have a wish but they won’t become a reality by wishing them into existence.
I can’t tell you how many times during my coaching sessions I have grown men become emotional when they see their goals written out. There is an enormous amount of drive that rises to the surface because their inner being truly wants what is written on those pages. Whatever feelings arise within you, work with it, harness that emotion. Whether it be good or bad, because they will catapult you to the next level. Just keep in mind to remove the noise. Keep the negativity at bay and use the good feelings to keep yourself accountable. Dissect and break your goals down in order for them to be measurable on a quarterly, monthly, weekly and daily basis.
I work with successful people all day long. They don’t come to me because they are lacking financially. In fact, the opposite is true. They want to be super successful. Not only financially but in all aspects of their lives. A financial goal is perfectly ok with me but I hold them accountable to the top 5 goals we just discussed above and then some. I hold them accountable to THEMSELVES. I want to develop who they are as a Leader, a friend, a sibling, a parent, etc. Like a fine tuned instrument, or a perfectly choreographed play. A TRUE leaders worst critic is themselves. I’m doing the same with you today.
Stop procrastinating, make a change right now. Not tomorrow, not later, RIGHT NOW!
Keep me posted…..I would love to hear from you.
“Mediocrity is self-inflicted and Genius is self-bestowed.”
A line made famous by actor Alec Baldwin in the 1992 film Glengarry Glen Ross.
22 years later…..Listen very carefully, 22 years later and the premise is still the same today. What are you willing to do to get the deal done? How persistent are you? What’s your motivating factor? Are you doing what works consistently?
Wake up people! You want to make 500K a year, a million dollars a year, or even more….I don’t care what the number is; What I do care is that you have the drive, the perseverance and the work ethic to get up every morning and do what others aren’t willing to do. When you accomplish that, the numbers will follow.
Successful people do what unsuccessful people aren’t willing to do.
It doesn’t matter what you’re selling. Do people want to do business with you? Ask yourself these leading questions, then sit down and look in the mirror.
My clients are always surprised when I inquire about their exercise routine or their diet.
I hear them say,
“Uh, how often do I workout? “David, what does working out have to do with coaching?”
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard that asked of me.
Your body is your temple. It’s an extension of your mind. Why wouldn’t you work on your best asset?
You are the total package and if you don’t take your WHOLE self seriously, NOBODY else will!
My meetings often revolve around the basis of removing negative thoughts which I’ve appropriately titled, “Removing the Noise”. I incorporate this piece of the puzzle into our coaching sessions to help develop a great work ethic, time management and self awareness, with one end in mind, “Accountability” to you and the world around you.
Now, I generally do not push the envelope when it comes to religion or spirituality, but I believe it’s an integral part of one’s self and contributes to us becoming whole in our businesses. Since I believe malnutrition of the body is linked with malfunction of the mind, I provide my clients with a few helpful tips.
Awareness – What gets your juices flowing early in the morning?
Is it working out?
Meditating?
Listening to music?
Yoga?
Energy – Be mindful of what provides energy and what drains it.
Passion – What are your values, morals and drivers?
Do you take a moment to do the activities you love?
If you love something, get out and do it. Share your passion with someone.
Mindset – Stay positive, always maintain accountability to yourself and ALWAYS have the world around you accountable to you. Most importantly create the culture around you the way YOU want it to be.
At the end of the day, what is being said about you and your character when you are not in the room.
The question is simple, yet people hesitate to answer when asked.
What are they afraid of?
Look within….Are people listening to what you have to say? Do they believe your message or better yet, do they care about the words being spoken? Sure, you may work for a large firm and yes, you may even earn a huge paycheck but at the end of the day, if people aren’t following you, YOU ARE NOT A LEADER!
You have to be of value to people. Make them know that their vision is your vision. Support and achieve their goals and lastly, earn their trust so in the end, you’ve earned their respect. That to me is the recipe for a great leader.
