Success Connections

With Deep Appreciation

Whether you celebrate Thanksgiving this week or not, I wanted to take just a moment to let you know how much you mean to me. 

You, dear readers, give me the courage to write even when I think I can't. 
Your comments and personal emails remind me why my writing matters. 
And your attention and loyalty in this time of "information overload", humbles me. 

Thank you for choosing Success Connections. I appreciate you.

With that, I'd like to share this little movie from my heart to yours, courtesy...Cherished Blessings. 
The name of the movie is, Has Anyone Told You

In gratitude,

Lora

Secure Your Own Future

As the election grows nearer here in Michigan, we are bombarded by more and more TV advertisements of candidates taking cheap shots at each other. 

Since Michigan is still rated the number 1 state in the country with the highest unemployment rate, JOBS or the lack there of, are the main focus of many of the campaigns.

Several of the candidates have turned the microphones over to the unemployed to do their dirty work.  About every 5 minutes, we get to watch another unemployed person blame one candidate or another for supporting issues that resulted in outsourcing jobs.

The question that always comes to mind for me is, “What are YOU doing about it?” 

Traditionally, we (in the US) have enjoyed an abundance of opportunities to make a living and support our families, however, anyone that’s been paying attention should have noticed that the tides have been changing for 7 or 8 years now. 

Businesses did all they could do to remain profitable.  You see, that’s the idea of owning a business…to be profitable!  Providing people with opportunities to work is certainly a nice benefit, but it doesn’t even make sense to think that a business would put “providing jobs” before creating a profitable future.

Several years ago when the business environment started changing, every single employed person should have opened their eyes and decided how they were going to take ownership of their own future.  Instead, the majority closed their eyes, relied on the union to protect them, and changed nothing.  And they found out that even the union couldn’t force a company to keep the doors open.

If you find yourself in the position of blaming, or victimizing, or stuck in a job you hate, for godsakes, read the handwriting on the wall…If It Is To Be, It Is Up To Me!

Take back your power!  DECIDE that you will never be blindsided like this again.  Just DECIDE that you will do whatever it takes to pick yourself up and get going.  DECIDE to turn grim circumstances into an opportunity of a lifetime.  If you think you can…YOU CAN!

What will you do next week to reinvent yourself and secure your future?

If you need support, I’m only a phone call or email away.

Track Your Slack

Did you happen to see the story on Workplace Slackers last Friday night on 20/20?  They estimated that slackers in the workplace are costing companies an average of over 400 billion dollars a year!  That’s an astounding number! 

Here in Michigan, companies are continuing to fold up shop at an alarming rate.  Sure, lots of factors contribute to a company going out of business, but I couldn’t help but wonder, “How much do slackers contribute to the demise of a company?”

Chances are, most of us don’t consider ourselves slackers.  But I’ll bet if we take a closer look at what slacking really is, we could find plenty of ways to cut some slack out of a day.

Let’s define “slack” as “paid time during which we’re not fully engaged in doing our work”.

If we used that statement as our shared definition, what counts as slack?

• Tardiness
• Extended lunches and breaks
• Personal errands and appointments
• Personal calls and emails
• Personal internet surfing and research
• Chatting about non-business related matters
• Complaining about the boss or colleagues
• Avoiding unpleasant things or people
• Daydreaming or zoning out

This is a pretty good list to start with.  Now copy and paste the list into a document or spreadsheet.  Think about your day yesterday.  Estimate the amount of time you spent for each item on the list.  Now total it up.

Are you willing to compare your estimate to actual data?  Nobody is looking over your shoulder here.  Just take the risk and gather the data for your own information.  No need to turn it into the boss. 

If so, create a fresh list for tomorrow.  Print it on colored paper so it doesn’t get lost in the piles of white paper.  Put it in a place where you’ll see it first thing in the morning.  Now, set an alarm to go off every 2 hours.  If you don’t have an alarm, you can find one here.

When the alarm rings, reflect on the past 2 hours and record your slack time on your list.  Keep this up for the entire day.  Total it at the end of the day.  Now, multiply the total number of hours by your hourly pay rate (even if you’re a salaried worker) so you know how much today’s slack is costing your company.

• How does your estimated slack time compare to your actual slack time?
• Were your surprised at what you learned?
• What could you do to cut some of the slack out of your day?

Most of us can cut plenty of slack out of our day by simply being more aware of how we’re spending our time.  And the truth is, we owe it to our companies.  They’ve paid for it.
I dare you to track your slack for the day and post your results here!

Don't Save Your Best Stuff For Last

I’m in the process of reading Jodee Bock’s new book “The 100% Factor”.  To illustrate one of her points she tells a quick story about her barbershop quartet’s director.  After one performance the director asks, “How many of you feel that was the best performance you’ve ever given?”  Very few people raised their hands.  The director goes on to ask, “What are you waiting for?”

Many of us were raised with the belief that we should save our best stuff for special occasions.  We watched our mothers let their best china collect dust until the holidays.  We saved our best outfits for church on Sunday.  And many of us could find our best (brand new) underwear lurking in the back of the drawer.

The truth is, this is not a dress rehearsal.  Whether it comes to a fulfilling career or living a great life, this is the real deal. 

What excuses are you making? 

Look back over the last week. What excuses did you make for not making the most of every opportunity that was presented to you?

Were you too busy to go to your kid’s soccer game?  Were you too tired to show your spouse that s/he really matters?  Are you holding back at work until you get a boss who really appreciates you?

This lifetime is like our own personal stage.  Once we leave the dressing room in the morning we’re on stage.  The performance is over when we die. 

Are you giving your best performance?

If not, what are you waiting for? 

Find Your Bliss

Nick Smith over at the Life 2.0 blog published and excellent post titled “Finding Our Niche”. 

If you work for another company (rather than yourself), you may find it easier to think of it in terms of “finding your bliss”, or even “what floats your boat”.  In other words, it’s that one thing that just makes you come alive when you’re doing it.

Have you thought about it lately? 

Nick’s post goes on to suggest that perhaps we should stop searching for that one magical thing and just focus on enjoying the present moment. 

I believe we can do both.  You see, blissful moments can be thought of as little clues to finding that one magical thing.  Think of them like a scavenger hunt.  Each clue leads to the next, but first you have to find the clues and then you need to decipher them.  Each time you’re successful you get closer to finding the reward at the end.  If you give up too early, it’s likely you’ll never find it. 

Just like a scavenger hunt, you get to decide whether the experience of finding your bliss will be joyful or frustrating.  Which will you choose?

Please share your thoughts!

What's Holding You Back?

The Make It Great Guy, Phil Gerbyshak posted a piece called "What's Holding You Back?".

Good stuff!  I think of it as being stuck.  Here in Michigan the winter can dump a foot of snow all at once.  You drive down the road, hit a patch of ice and before you know it, you spin off into the ditch.  Sometimes you can get enough momentum to drive out of it.  Other times it's hopeless.  The snow is jam packed around the tires.  Spinning your wheels only gets you stucker than you were when you started.

You have choices.  You can sit there and keep spinning your wheels or you can call for help.  If you've got a friend with a big truck and a tow rope that may be all you need.  Other times your only hope is calling the wrecker.  The wrecker driver is an expert.  He looks at the situation from all angles.  Decides the best way to help you out, and before you know it, your back on the road.

What do you do when you're stuck?  I don't mean in your car.  I mean when you're not reaching your goals, living your best life, or growing in your career.  Do you sit there and spin your wheels?  Or do you acknowledge it and call for help?

If you find yourself spinning your wheels, just change it!  Take your foot off the accelerator, pick up the phone and make that call.  Help is only a phone call away.

Google: Ten Golden Rules

Many of us have been standing back and watching Google take the world by surprise.  I for one have been intrigued on how they do what they do!

In case you haven't seen it, Newsweek did a little digging and got Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google to share his secrets.  In essence...what Google does to get the most out of knowledge workers.

Here's the short list of Google's Ten Golden Rules:

• Hire by committee
• Cater to their every need
• Pack them in
• Make coordination easy
• Eat your own dog food
• Encourage creativity
• Strive to reach consensus
• Don't be evil
• Data drive decisions
• Communicate effectively

Take a minute to read the full article!  It's a great read! You can find it right here:

Google:  Ten Golden Rules

The Laws Of Motivation

Richard Denny is offering a free ebook called The Laws Of Motivation.  It's a great Friday afternoon read!  Nicely illustrated as well.  You can download it here:

http://www.motivate-to-win.co.uk/content/download-laws-of-motivation.php