Eddie Cantor:  “It takes twenty years to be an overnight success.”

Somerset Maugham: “It’s a funny thing about life. If you refuse to accept anything but the best, very often you get it.”

Nelson Mandela: “There is no passion to be found in playing small, in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.”

Lao-tzu – Chinese philosopher: “true leaders inspire people to do great things, and, when the work is done, their people proudly say, “We did this ourselves.”

George Bernard Shaw: “Success covers a multitude of blunders.”

Goethe: “What you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has a genius, power and magic in it”

Andrew Carnegie: “No man will ever make a great leader who wants to do it all by himself or to get all the credit for doing it.”

Henry Ford: “One of the great discoveries a man makes, one of his greatest surprises, is to find he can do what he was afraid he couldn’t do.  Most of the bars we beat against are in ourselves-we put them there and we can take them down.”

Vince Lombardi: “Obstacles are what you see when you take your eyes off the goal.”

Franklin Murphy while working for Times-Mirror Corp.: “People have a stake in an idea if they have participated in its creation; then they’ll work much harder, in a much more dedicated way, to bring it to success.”

Edwin H Land- Founder of Polaroid: “The first thing you naturally do is teach the person to feel that the undertaking is manifestly important and nearly impossible,….That draws out the kind of drive that makes people strong, that puts you in pursuit intellectually.”

David Lloyd George: “Don’t be afraid to take a big step when one is indicated. You can’t cross a chasm in two small jumps.”

Sam Walton: “Outstanding leaders go out of their way to boost the self esteem of their personnel.  If people believe in themselves, it’s amazing what they can accomplish.”

Conrad Hilton: “Success seems to be connected with action.  Successful people keep moving.  They make mistakes but they don’t quit.”

Simon Walker: “When you are faced with a decision- always choose the bolder option. The most extraordinary things are created by ordinary people.”

Risk taking improves self confidence and self esteem.  With every risk there is an opportunity for success, and success breeds confidence.  Sure, with every risk there is also the possibility of failure, but even if you fail you gain knowledge and skills. Often failure provides the confidence that comes from knowing you at tried and that you made progress.  The more often you succeed and the more passionate you will become about new challenges.

1. Risk taking lessens stress.  Indecision is far more draining than taking action.  If you wait until you are absolutely certain of success, you may not have the energy required to complete the goal.  Successful people put their energies into taking action not thinking about taking action.
2. Risk taking shows us what works.  Each failure provides guidance to our next success. When we aren’t afraid to risk change we are able to try new things and ultimately learn what works best for us.
3. Risk takers are happy.  If we fail to attempt something that would make us happy, we deprive ourselves of that happiness that we knew was available to us.  We are really much happier when we can say we tried, even if we don’t succeed.

Risk taking is uncomfortable and frightening, but it is the only way we can push ourselves and learn what goals we can achieve.  It is the only way to live to our fullest and to realize our dreams.  It means the difference between looking back and reflecting on what we’ve accomplished and looking back with regret at what we wished we would have done.  Those who hold back will accomplish very little.  Those who see risk as an opportunity will have the opportunity to accomplish great things.  Which one will you be?

Think Globally

The days are long gone where business and new clients came only from the local neighbourhood.  With technology changing as rapidly as it is, the world is now an open marketplace.  Organizations must work to identify, establish relations with and satisfy global customers.

Stay Current

As technologies and business methods evolve, procedures and work methods must change also.  Keeping on top of worldwide trends in your industry is imperative for success.

Invest

Falling behind is often a result of insufficient time and money spent on systems, equipment and skills development.  Look at money spent on training, development and technology as investments rather than costs.

Embrace Change

In all segments of the economy, change is happening at a dizzying pace.  To compete requires constant and rapid change.  Change always involves risk, but it is a necessary component of progress.  The path of change is a much easier road to follow if it is looked upon as an adventure rather than a threat.  Business leaders and managers must develop attitudes and actions that will instil confidence and enthusiasm for change in their employees and co-workers.  Set a good example and everyone will embrace change and the success that comes with it.

Acknowledge the Good

An organization’s best assets are its people, most importantly those who are enthusiastic about the organization’s future.  Learn to recognize those employees who willingly participate in change.  Help them to learn, grow and participate.  These are the people to invest in as part of the company’s future.

Don’t Discard the Bad

There will always be some employees who don’t seem to want to change.  Be very careful that what you see as resistance to your great new idea isn’t a caution that your plan has serious flaws.  Many organizations have launched new ideas and in the excitement of the moment didn’t listen to the voices warning them of the rocks.  A organization can spend huge amounts of time, money and energy trying to convince these diehards to move with them into the future, often to find soon afterwards that the diehards were right.  To be a future contender in the global marketplace means listening to the people who don’t agree with you.

Fight Complacency

“If it ain’t broke, fix it.”  Oddly enough its successes, that often holds us back.  Why mess with something when it’s working?  But such an attitude impedes future growth and future successes.  Organizations often will fall farther and farther behind their competitors while basking in present success.  To quote Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes: “The greatest thing in this world is not so much where we are, but in what direction we are moving.”

A clear and determined focus on moving ahead, embracing change and a positive approach to continuous learning will help any organization.

Like children who are totally unencumbered by the biases and judgements of the adult world, good leaders have a genuine enthusiasm for people.    Good leaders are very good at accepting people for what and who they are, not what the leader would like them to be.   Good leaders celebrating an individual’s uniqueness as a good thing and not something that needs to be judged or changed.

Good leaders enjoy generous amounts of spontaneity.  In their day to day work they have fun, instil a sense of adventure into their projects, and truly enjoy what they do.  This enthusiasm will often gain the support of even the most sceptical of colleagues.

A good leader loves to use his/her imagination.  It is this trait that permits many good leaders to formulate and share their visions with colleagues and employees. They can create a picture of the future that draws others in and makes them want to be included.

Children have the ability to live in the present.  Every new day is full of potential and possibilities.  A good leader approaches life and work in a very similar way, focusing on today and moving forward. Good leaders focus on making improvement instead of dwelling on past events and mistakes.

Good leaders, like children are very trusting of others.  Instead of being constantly suspicious of the motives of others, they are able to take the risk of trusting those around them.

And finally, good leaders are eager and committed to learning. It seldom takes much for children to try something new.  Likewise, good leaders are always ready to put new ideas to the test or explore different ways of doing things.  Like children, they can become totally focused on the task at hand.  Good leaders can become so involved that they often lose all sense of time and place.  Good leaders enjoy what they are doing.  They don’t become bogged down with concerns about failure or lack of success.

Perhaps the fastest way to becoming a competent and successful leader, is to really get in touch with your younger inner self.  Listen to that little voice inside you  that is encouraging you to let go of your inhibitions and let yourself just be. Live in the moment, take some risk, trust others and above all enjoy what you do!

But, the question is, do you search out a speech that motivates or a speech that inspires them. Is there a difference?  Many would argue that they are one and the same.  Others maintain that there is a marked difference between the two.

The dictionary defines to motivate as, “to provide with a motive or motives; incite; impel” and in defines to inspire as, “to fill with an animating, quickening, or exalting influence.”

So do we want our speech to motivate or inspire? A simple analogy may help us understand the difference.

“You have an old clunker that you’ve ignored.  It will often fail to start when you want to go somewhere.  You get it to go by pushing it down the driveway, but the next time you go to need it, you need to give it that same push.  On the other hand, if you repair it by identifying and dealing with the problems at the most basic level, and kept it well maintained, it would more than likely start right away every time.”

If people are motivated, they will be eager to move forward….for a while.  But the momentum will gradually slow and you will need to “push” them again to get them going.  If and when you stop pushing chances are they will stop altogether.

Inspired people on the other hand, are like the old clunker that has been repaired and maintained.  An inspired person sees the vision, understands the expectations and has a desire to keep going and working until goals have been reached.  Rather than needing a push every so often, they are self propelled to complete the task.

The fundamental difference then, between motivating someone and inspiring them is the long term effect.  Motivation is a fleeting thing while inspiration is long lasting.  True inspiration can actually last a lifetime.   Most of us can remember a teacher, relative or boss who so inspired us that it changed our way of doing things forever.

That speech you are planning.  It needs to inspire your employees.  To provide them with the enthusiasm, stimulation and encouragement required to last them well past meeting the current challenges, and into the challenges of the future.

So, how does one become a great mentor?  Here are a few guidelines to consider.

First a mentor must understand the potential of the person they are mentoring. When mentors are aware of a person’s natural abilities and talents, they can guide them effectively.

A mentor needs to identify the personality traits of their student in order to understand what drives them to learn.

The mentor must then establish that they are compatible with their student and can make the relationship work.  Do they share similar values and beliefs?  Are their work ethics basically the same?   Do they share a mutual respect for each other?  And, as basic as it may sound, in order for a mentor/student relationship to work, they must like each other.

Mentors openly share personal experiences and achievements in order that the student will learn from the mentor’s failures as well as their successes.

It is also the mentor’s responsibility to help the student believe in his or her own potential and encourage them to develop their own interests and follow their dreams.

Mentors are there to instruct, to teach, to encourage, reward and inspire.  They are the ones who help their student up when they falter, and offer encouragement and reinforcement when they begin to doubt themselves.

Mentors encourage students to leave their comfort zones and try new things.  Mentors encourage risks in order that their students broaden their horizons and expand their experiences.

Mentor/student relationships require quite a large investment of both time and energy in order to succeed.  Mentoring can be an enormously rewarding and fulfilling experience for the mentor and be enriching and even life changing for the student.

Finally, the greatest challenge for mentors will be maintaining the right balance of friendliness and familiarity without becoming too personally involved.  Mentors must provide the right amount of support, encouragement and respect while counselling and clearly presenting areas for change and improvement.

If we looked at a graph depicting the rate of effort required for a project compared to the rate of return, we would see that the line for effort is much steeper than the line for return.  In any project we undertake, 80% of our efforts are expended in about the first half of a project, yet only about 20% of the return will be evident in that period. Projects must gather momentum.  As you invest time and effort, the results begin to materialize.  Results show themselves slowly at first but increase as the project progresses. It is in this project middle ground that we really need to practise patience.  In order to see a project through to its completion, we have to understand that we are investing our efforts in expectation of an eventual return.  By developing this “Investment Attitude” of awareness and understanding, we can better prepare ourselves for the lapses in our confidence that the lack of short term gratification can produce.  We will recognize those feelings of insecurity for what they are, disregard them and move on with the necessary efforts we have to put forth.

All successful people know that the most important investment you will ever make is in yourself. You must give every project your best effort and be patient.  Don’t expect instant results from your projects or your people.  Remain confident in your ideas and your plans.  Your ideas are sound, and your goals are attainable.  The results you are seeking will come.

Remember that very few things happen “all of a sudden.”  Successes and failures generally happen over long periods of time. Change usually begins to happen long before its effects are actually felt.  Stay focused on your goals.  Keep working at them and keep putting in the effort.  Concentrate on accomplishing pre-set daily goals and know that eventually the results you are aiming for will happen.

Fostering lifelong learning is a consistent objective of business coaches.  But, in order to foster that love of learning a coach must first understand what drives others to learn and what makes then want to keep on learning.  These motivations are different for each individual.  Here are a few of the reasons why people want to learn.

Reward

Learning can be a means to an end.   In many cases the end is the reward of higher financial status.  In some organizations, salary increases are affected by the number of courses you have completed, licenses you have attained or classroom completed.  In these organizations the learning that is taking place means more money.

Personality

There are those people for whom wanting to learn about everything is just as natural as breathing.  Their insatiable curiosity about the world around them has been with them as long as they can remember.  Whether this trait is a result of nature or nurture is debatable, but for some, it’s just how it is.

To Make a Difference

For some people, the drive to make a difference in the world is very strong.  These people are compelled to keep learning in order drive change and make a difference.  If accomplishing their goal of making a difference requires learning something new, they are ready and willing.

To Stay in the Game

For some, methods and tools change rapidly in their profession and people who want to remain in the field have no choice but to keep up with the changes.  This type of learning is a necessity for remaining in a chosen field.

Fear

Certainly not a desired motivation, but, fear is sometimes the driving force behind learning.  For some their job is at risk if they don’t take courses, learn new skills or keep up with changes in their field. For these people, learning becomes another part of their job, something they have to do whether they want to or not.

These are some of the reasons why people choose to pursue continuous learning.  There are others. Probably there are as many reasons for wanting to learn something as there are things to learn.  The job of a good business coach is to try to understand what drives a person to learn, so that the coach can help them to be effective in their quest for knowledge.

Description: In order to help people develop a love of learning, a business coach must first understand what motivates them to learn.  What makes you want to learn new things?

Tags: business coach, business coaching, learning new skills, love of learning, lifelong learning, learning motivation

Is the coach / consultant able to listen.  Unfortunately, there are consultants who can talk and talk but fail to hear what you have to say.  If they can’t listen to what you say, it is highly unlikely that they will ever understand your needs and objectives.

A management coach / consultant should offer you a service, not a product. You need someone who will work to solve your problems and meet the needs of the assignment.  You don’t need someone who has a solution that they feel fits all problems.  Be wary of someone who wants only to sell you their program or process.  While their products may be valuable resources to have, a coach / consultant must provide guidance and teaching first.

Be wary of a coach /consultant with boasts of amazing results that they made come about.  A consultant’s job is to empower people and to teach them. A good coach / consultant will help you to recognize the root cause of issues and demonstrate how accelerate improvement.

You will want to work with a coach /consultant with plenty of diversified experience.  A big caveat here is to avoid the temptation to search out a consultant with experience only in your industry.  In order to be truly effective a consultant must be able to offer a wide range of approaches to problem solving that can only come from having worked in many different situations.

The last thing you or your employees need is someone telling you what a mess you’ve made of things or point out all the wrong choices you’ve made.  If a consultant starts out by talking about how bad things are in your system and how things should have been done, then you should definitely end the interview then and there.

Lastly, a coach /consultant should come to you with an open mind.  He/she should wait until all of your concerns and issues have been presented before offering any input at all.  If the coach / consultant arrives at your door with a readymade, cookie cutter, one size fits all approach, they are not the people you want!

Am I able to recognize differences among my staff or team members and do I work effectively with each one? Being able to see these differences and respond accordingly, allows a leader to motivate people individually for better results.

Do I encourage suggestions and input from everyone, and then do I really listen? In order for people to feel motivated, they have to have some ownership of their processes and believe that their contributions are important.

Do I allow individuals to solve their own problems? A leader’s job is not to do everything but to impart the necessary knowledge, skills and tools to others so they can be successful.

Do I understand the personal goals of each of the people on my team? Different things motivate people. By understanding what inspires people to work, we are better able to find ways to help them succeed.

Do I give praise and provide rewards consistently and appropriately? Everyone needs to be recognized for their efforts and more so for positive results.

Do I find or create opportunities where people can succeed? Success breeds success.  Accomplishments create confidence to take on bigger challenges.

Do I consistently try to find ways to help people grow learn and develop on the job? The more people learn, the more they are inspired to learn.  Greater knowledge creates greater ideas.

Am I available to individuals, management and other team members? Invisible leaders don’t  make progress.  The more approachable you are, the more comfortable your team and employees will be with asking questions and making suggestions.  MBWA (Management By Wandering Around) is vital to the success of any leader.

Do I motivate the team as a whole as well as recognizing individual efforts and contributions? Individual’s efforts are invaluable. However, the team’s success must also be seen as extremely important if performance is to be sustained.

Am I successful at promoting communication, understanding and respect among the people I work with? In order to achieve success, the leader must cultivate an environment that encourages open honest and respectful communications.  People who know and trust each other accomplish more.