give, give, give, give, give

Tuesday March 4, 2009 #100

“I live by five little words:  give, give, give, give, give”  

~David K Aaker

David, my good friend and mentor, taught me this quote 15 years ago and it has resonated with me ever since.  David has lived and continues to live a life of service and his example lends credence to the idea that we get the most when we help others the most.  In that spirit, I chose this quote for today’s JAM – the 100^th opportunity to give something to you, my JAMmin readers.

Thank you for being a loyal reader, many of you since the first JAM on January 15^th of last year.  I commit to you that you can count on receiving the next 100 JAMs as I give, give, give, give, give.

(David K Aaker is a nationally known speaker in the US, focusing on customer service, leadership, and business ethics.  Check out his site at www.davidkaaker.com.)

Merry Christmas!

Thursday December 25, 2008 Christmas 2008

“I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round, as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys. 

 ~Charles Dickens

Thank you!

I appreciate you being a loyal JAM with Mike! reader in 2008.  I have enjoyed writing for you, and reading your feedback, stories and quotes.  Our life journeys are so amazing and I am privileged to be spending a couple moments with you each week.  I hope you have been able to use the JAM messages to improve your day or to help you toward achieving meaningful change in your life.

Please be sure to take some time to enjoy your family and/or friends and the beauty of this holiday season. 

“And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so?  It came without ribbons.  It came without tags.  It came without packages, boxes or bags.  And he puzzled and puzzled ’till his puzzler was sore.  Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before.  What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store?  What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more?” 

 ~Dr. Seuss

April is National Humor Month – Celebrate!

Thursday April 10, 2008

“The man who doesn’t relax and hoot a few hoots voluntarily, now and then, is in great danger of hooting hoots and standing on his head for the edification of the pathologist and trained nurse, a little later on.”

~Elbert Hubbard

In the last JAM, I suggested taking a one-day holiday.  So, following my own advice, I am taking a break from the serious business of helping you find ways to take action.  Instead, let’s look at the recognized holidays for the month of April and the next couple of days.

(Yes, I know I took a break on April 1^st too – you weren’t supposed to notice that!)

April is “Stress Awareness Month”, and “National Humor Month”, which certainly goes together perfectly, doesn’t it?

Your assignment:  Today and tomorrow, find ways to laugh out loud and reduce stress.  Here are two suggestions from Holiday Insights:

Today:  National Siblings Day

What a great way to celebrate national Humor Month!  Call your brother or sister (or someone in your life you regard as one) and share a joke, or laugh about a funny memory.

Tomorrow:  Barbershop Quartet Day

This can be a good way to both relieve stress and laugh too!  Try to find a local venue that has a barbershop quartet as the entertainment.  What a happy, carefree, way to pass some time.  Plus, these singers are usually incredibly talented.  You’ll be laughing about the experience for weeks to come.

Next JAM:  Action item #6 to help you “get up and get on with it.”

Distractions be gone!

Thursday April 3, 2008

“You can always find a distraction if you’re looking for one.”

~ Tom Kite

I hope you enjoyed Tuesday’s humor quotes and that you’re enjoying this series of action ideas to help you “get up and get on with it”. 

Remember:  Learning to take action is critical to your long term success and happiness.  You are someone with incredible talents who will change your and others’ lives in so many incredible ways if you just get up and get on with it!  Here is the fourth of 8 action ideas to enable you to do just that.

Action item #4:  Distractions be gone!

Unless we are really turned on and passionate about a project, we are likely to seek out distractions that can serve as excuses for not taking action.  I do it, you do it, we all do it.  But if we allow it to continue, we’ll never get on to the actions that will get us what we truly desire.

Your assignment:  Eliminate the things you find yourself doing that distract you from taking action.  This will include things like TV, excessive computer time, books, etc. Eliminating distractions will create a bit of a vacuum – your mind will want to find something to do.  If those distractions are gone, you will be more inclined to take action on the things you want or need to do.

Use Humor to Break Through

Tuesday April 1, 2008 #23

 “Humor is the affectionate communication of insight.”

~ Leo C. Rosten

In honor of April Fool’s Day, I will break from our series of action ideas to help you “get up and get on with it” – well, sort of.  As I began writing today’s JAM, I planned on sharing with you 6 quotes on humor.  I am still going to do that.  However, I realized that the use of humor can be one of the best tools we have to “get up and get on with it.”

With affection, I share with you the insight of today’s action item:  Use humor to break through

Your assignment:  Read through the 6 humor quotes (1 above and 5 below).  Ponder them a bit and find a way to use one or more of them to alter your thinking just enough to push yourself into action on one of your key goals.

For example: 

“I think the next best thing to solving a problem is finding some humor in it.” ~ Frank A. Clark

Action:  Determine an obstacle to taking action, find some humor in it, and break through!

Here are four more humor quotes.  Enjoy them, enjoy April Fool’s Day and…SMILE!

“Imagination was given to man to compensate him for what he is not; a sense of humor to console him for what he is.” ~ Francis Bacon

“A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs — jolted by every pebble in the road.” ~ Henry Ward Beecher

“This I conceive to be the chemical function of humor: to change the character of our thought.” ~ Lin Yutang

“Humor is perhaps a sense of intellectual perspective: an awareness that some things are really important, others not; and that the two kinds are most oddly jumbled in everyday affairs.” ~ Christopher Morley

Too many ideas

 Thursday February 28, 2008 #14

“Knowledge does not become power until it is used.” 

~ Harvey MacKay

Let’s continue to discover how to overcome that which blocks us from making progress on our goals.

Block #4:  Too many ideas.

This may sound odd, but some people are unable to move forward on their goals because they spend too much time learning. 

There have been at least two times in my life when I recognized I was stuck in learning paralysis.  It is the idea that if you read one more book, attended one more seminar, etc., then you’d be ready to start.  At some point you have to stop reading all those books and websites, attending all those seminars, setting and re-setting your goals, and start!

Learn enough to be able to make reasonable decisions and then get on with it!  You can always make course corrections along the way.

Commit to stopping before starting

 Thursday February 21, 2008 #12

“The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.” ~Henry Thoreau

Let’s continue to discover how to overcome what blocks us from making progress on our goals.

Block #2:  Starting new goals without cutting back on something else.

This is one of the most common issues that cause us to give up on our goals.  For example, you set a goal to get your book written this year.  You plan to finish one chapter every two weeks.  Two months into the year, you only have one paragraph written.  Why?  You had every good intention, but you didn’t include a commitment to watch one less hour of TV each night to create the time necessary to work on your writing.  If all you do is add one more activity to an already-frenetic schedule, what chance do you have to keep your commitment?  It sounds obvious, but almost everyone I coach has this issue.

Your assignment:  Review your goals and determine how much time you need to spend on each goal daily and/or weekly.  Determine the corresponding activities that have no value toward your goal achievement that you can eliminate to provide the time for your high-value activities.

Your goals are not connected to your values

 Tuesday February 19, 2008 #11

“Happiness and high performance come to you when you choose to live your life consistent with your highest values and your deepest convictions.” ~Brian Tracy

In the next few JAMs we will discover what blocks us from making progress on our goals, and how to overcome them.  

Block #1:  Your goals are not connected to your values. 

They are someone else’s ideas about whom or what you should be.  Unless a goal is deeply rooted in your values, you will not have the character strength to fight through obstacles.  So many people, even when they achieve a goal such as wealth or fame, find they are miserable.  Why?  They are doing what society, family, and friends tell them is right.  They aren’t working on goals that truly connected with their values.

Your assignment has two parts:

• 1. Think deeply about how you define your core values around the four key areas of your life – health, wealth, wisdom/expertise, and social happiness. The idea is to understand why you want to be healthy (to be able to play with my grandchildren, or to travel). Or why you want to be wealthy (education for my children without debt, philanthropy). And so on.
• 2. Look at the goals you now have for your health, wealth, wisdom and happiness. Do they support your values – your “why’s”? Spend some time reshaping these goals in alignment with your values.

Once you have strong goals for your life, in alignment with your character and values, you will be more able to take the actions necessary for goal achievement.

Living Life with Intention, Passion & Love

Thursday February 14, 2008 #10  Valentines Day

“Duty makes us do things well, but love makes us do them beautifully.”  ~ Zig Ziglar

Today is a good day to think about the impact love has on our ability to achieve our goals.  Not just romantic love, but the love of life!  I live my life with intention, passion and love.  Do you? I find that the more I focus on intention, passion and love the less time I have for worry and fear.

If you find you are not receiving the best life has to offer, perhaps it is because you are not giving life the best you have to offer.

Your assignment today is to think about all that you love in life:  people, music, nature and more.  The more we love life, the more life will love us back.  Keep your mind away from worry and problems by focusing on the good stuff!  Love big and watch out for the good stuff coming your way!

By the way, Zig also says, “Every day above ground is a good day!”  Love it!

Jump for Joy

Tuesday February 12, 2008  #9

“Without passion man is a mere latent force and possibility, like the flint which awaits the shock of the iron before it can give forth its spark.” ~Amiel, Journal, 17 December 1856 

To start our series on tips for setting and keeping goals, handling obstacles, and experiencing achievement let’s explore PASSION and JOY. 

One of our fellow JAMmers asks,  

“You have “jump” pictures on many of your web pages and other materials. What is the significance of the jump?” 

Great question!  My calling is to teach people and organizations how to find and use their passion to achieve extraordinary results.  A good visual example of a passionate person is someone literally jumping for joy.  I use this symbol on my website and emails to show you examples of what passion and joy look like. 

Today’s challenge:  After reading this, get up from your chair.  Close your eyes and think about something you are truly passionate about.  It could be family, your work, friends, golf, shopping, music, etc.  Let the feeling of passion settle into your body down to your fingers and toes.  Then, throw your arms straight up over your head and say (as loudly as you can get away with), “Thank you!”  And if you’re feeling really bold, JUMP! 

I have nothing to prove this, but I am certain that you cannot do this exercise without “giving forth your spark” and feeling JOY. 

Now get back to work – everyone is wondering what you’re smiling about!