MIRACLES --- Fun, Easy Things You Can Do Every Day to Achieve Your Dream

You have started to identify what it is you want to go after. You have uncovered your purpose and you have a pretty clear vision of your heart’s desire. (If this is not clear, you are going to want to invest time and energy in exploring this deeper http://www.winning-directions.com/products.asp ). You have seen a dream begin to unfold in front of you like a beautiful lotus flower. You have systematically explored and revealed to yourself the kind of environment in which you would thrive. You have brought your skills, talents, and abilities, one at a time, into view. You now understand and embrace your uniqueness and the vision you have for yourself.

The most common hurdle folks face at this point is, “Where do I start? How am I going to make my dream come true?” This kind of uncertainty can manifest itself into fear and can stop us dead in our tracks. Because we don’t see a well-worn path in front of us, we often times believe the journey is going to be long and hard. Not knowing where the road to our dreams will take us makes us hesitate and even put off the very things we need to do to begin our voyage.

A favorite query posed by people attending my workshops is “Are we going to talk about the strategy of how I begin to transition to making this dream my primary source of income? How can I pursue my dream and have people pay me for it?”

My response: “Miracles can and do happen!” I usually get unsatisfied gazes in return. People in search of a fulfilling career don’t want to hear about miracles. In the past, miracles haven’t abounded in their lives and most folks just aren’t convinced that one is going to simply show up in one the most important endeavors of their life, the very thing they want to hang their future on. Skepticism abounds, believe me.

“Well,” I tell them, “you can plan miracles in your life.” Eyes begin to light up again, ears perk to listen. By dedicating time daily to their miracle plan, they can and will see themselves growing in the way that will bring their hopes to reality.

In the next few weeks, I would like to share with you a strategy that I’ve used for years as a career coach. It’s a method that will help you build your MIRACLES. Yep … you guessed it. Do you feel another acronym comin’ on? In the next series of blogs I would like to offer techniques and insights you might want to use to help you be confident that you are moving in the right direction. You can and should become a well informed consumer about the path you take with your career and the upcoming blogs will reveal another letter of the acronym and another method that will allow you to take the right course of action to achieving your dream.

So stay tuned…

Adding Strengthfinders 2.0 to your System

Hey Hi Everybody,

Still P.U.M.P.ed up?

I’ve heard back from quite a few of you ... I’m really glad! Feel free to reach out and contact me here or via email (Susie@winning-directions.com) or that old fashioned thing called a telephone 262-391-3828. If you have questions or you would like to flesh out an idea or two, I’m happy to do that with you. That’s what our Coaches Corner Forum is intended to do. I love it!

Last time we talked about initial steps to helping you “P.U.M.P.” up the Passionate Performance of the members in your team The PUMP Up Your Bottom Line System. We revisited the D.I.G. concept. We explored the D. and the I. and the G (Give your Gifts) we will cover in future conversations.

Here’s a quick review:

Discover what truly makes them unique

Inventory their successes and their achievements. We covered a technique that would help in inventorying situations where they “hit it out of the park”. They will start to collect a story or two, using the C.A.R. stories formula, Challenge – Action – Results, this is where the 80%-20 rule starts to kick in. These mini stories begin collecting evidence that supports their 20% - their “go to” strengths that will generate their 80% results. This is where they can begin to maximize then capitalize on their “Inspired action not just their Required action”.

Here’s a tip

As I mentioned in the PUMPed presentation, I’m a huge fan of the book and assessment tool Strengthfinders 2.0 by Tom Rath. http://www.strengthsfinder.com/home.aspx . My recommendation is to have this report along-side while they are crafting their C.A.R. mini stories. I encourage individuals to read through the report and circle the words or phrases that reflect the essence of who they feel they are. As they begin to write (and I feel it’s important to write these stories out – not just think through them) they should “harvest” the words and phrases they’ve circle. It’s wonderful to have your team members start to read these stories out load, to either you their leader or to the team. You can see their confidence in who they are, grow right in front of your eyes. They start to see a pattern in how they make a difference, starting to emerge. They are having a stronger sense of who they are, what they do and soon – they will have a strong positive view of the organization. We will talk about that soon. After all, you ultimately want them not only believing in themselves, but the company for whom they are working. Right?

The 80 / 20 Rule

Have you ever heard of the 80 / 20 rule? AkA The Pareto Principle. It was named after the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, who observed that 80% of income in Italy was received by 20% of the Italian population. The common application speaks to the assumption that most of the results in any situation are determined by a small number of causes. As the numbers work, 80 percent of your outcomes come from 20 percent of your inputs. A good example of the theory is frequently applied in the context of a sale-force of an organization. It reflects the performance of the top sales people of an organization. It simply stats, that 80% of the sales volume of a company often comes from only 20% of the sales force … the Top Performing 20%. It’s where most companies reap the highest financial rewards for the products or services they sell. These individuals have refined and mastered their skill sets to the point where they’re well oiled producers; they are extremely effective and know how to be “Rain Makers”. Without a doubt, they are extremely valued by the organization.


Well let me share a secret … the same premise applies to you on a personal level within the collection of strengths you possess. You have a wide range of skills you can perform – some at an extremely effective / dynamic level and some --- well, not so much. Right? Let’s look closer at how this ratio plays out for you. You have selected talents you’ve naturally relied on over many years. You have honed them into a collection of highly valued abilities. If you think about it, you’ll see what I mean. You have skills, talents and abilities that you tend to “fall back on”. The stuff when you use, you know you can, as I like to say, “hit it out of the park”. If you take the time to examine your success path, you will recognize that you are dramatically more effective when you put these assets to work and leverage them. Let me give you an example. Let’s say you’re very good at understanding and then communicating the strength of an idea or strategy. You have the ability to get to the core of the positive impact with grace and tact quickly. You ask questions that are insightful. Then actively listen to gain as much detail from whom you are talking. You then position the conversations to highlight what you have just learned and gain trust easliy. This is a real asset to you and any organization with whom you have a working relationship.


I often refer to these as “your deliverables”. What you bring to the table, so to speak. Once you have identified and understand your strengths and how you use your assets; you begin to know how you can make a difference in a big way. Here’s where it starts to play in your favor. Now you can begin to create an environment where you are highly valued, by leveraging - using this strength as your 20% to create results - big results … your 80%. But let me ask you a question, “Do you know what your 20% are? If you want to find out more about how you uncover this you might want to read Are You Thriving … Or Just Surviving?

Every Employee (Potential Employee) Needs a Sponsor

My definition of a mentor is a wise and trusted advisor. Do you have one? Do you have many? I have, over the years, sought out the guidance of many a person whom I valued their opinion and sought out their advise. I tuned to them consistently. They taught me how to make short cuts to a successful outcome. They showed me where the “land minds” were. I was able to avoid costly, even wasteful investments of time or money because of their input. Even though having a mentor who can be a role model is very valuable, there are times when a mentor, especially if the workplace is a common one, may not be enough … even more so if they are a mentor who is of the “assigned” version.

Don’t get me wrong, I think building a bond between working colleagues is a great, if not important idea. I just feel that developing that relationship to the point where that individual can become your sponsor is more impactful. A sponsor goes beyond the classic mentor, they become your advocate. They would be willing to put your name on the table when an opportunity comes up for which you are well suited. They become a champion for you – even campaign on your behalf.

How do you build that kind of a relationship? It comes from a good history … a track record of trust and observed success in your performance. Being able to communicate, then demonstrate one’s assets - how one makes a difference to the success of a project, department and yes the overall success of an organization is the key. Having a mentor’s guidance transform into a sponsor is to ask for their role to shift – for them to take an active part in helping you succeed. Your part is providing them with the evidence of why they should offer your name to the decision makers. You need to exhibit, “This is why I feel I can make a difference. Here’s what my vision of this role would look like.” Then ask, “Will you champion my cause?”

So go ahead, look for, then build, the kind of relationship with a great sponsor who can help you get to your desired level.

The PUMP Up Your Bottom Line System

Hey Hi Everyone,

Still PUMPed up? Remember what that stands for? … Passion Ultimately Means Performance.

As we discussed in our session on Friday, 9/9 a couple hours of throwing ideas around is hopefully informative. But it’s the long term investment of coaching your team – guiding them to implement and hone the techniques we talked about, that’s where real results (the Magic) happens. A few of you asked if there might be a way to keep a dialog going to help coach you through this process. So to that end, I would like to add tips and techniques on an ongoing basis to support you in that effort. Please view this as a forum, a “Coach’s Corner” if you will, where we can share ideas, ask questions and build onto each other’s ideas and resources. But most importantly, keep the momentum and the process moving forward.

Building the kind of employment engagement we were talking about will take some time and effort – but that’s where your natural assets of developing people, kicks in … AKA coaching. As Brigitte Richerson of Potawatomi put it so well, “I thrive when I helping someone maximize their true talents”. Can we drop in the 80% / 20% rule here? I think so.

My friend, Dr. Stan “Break Through” Harris, say’s, and I agree, “You have the opportunity to implement a SYSTEM”. He defines a system as.

Save

Your

Self

Time

Energy &

Money.

Ok, Ok. It looks like I’m not the only acronym lover. Anyway.

Here is a system that we discussed, the PUMP You Up System, that will provide you with techniques that can ignite your team’s desire to “want to put skin in the game”. Why? Because they know they have gifts, talents and a history of success they know they can leverage to contribute to success of your team and the organization over all.

Let’s review what the first step of the system looks like.

Tip # 1. D.I. G.

Discover What Makes You Truly Unique

How do we do that?

Inventory Your Successes and Achievements

Then

Give Your Gifts

My first recommendation is that you gather your team. Have each member do their Love Tos vs Have Tos Walk Down Memory Lane exercises (seen below). Have them start this process as a group. Have them find at least 5 situations, but if they can find 10 that’s better.

YOUR LOVE TOS VS HAVE TOS
WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE

Write down a few of your favorite and most meaningful activities you have had professionally.

Think about a few situations that have brought you great satisfaction? What are some events that have given you a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment? You felt you “hit it out of the park”. You, “nailed” it. You made a big difference to its success. Think about statements like…

I’m at my best when I’m…
I’m very proud of the results when I’m …
The type of environment I thrive in is …
When I’m involved with this activity I could spend hours at it, but it never seems like it. Rather, it’s effortless.

Go over your list from your Love-Tos vs Have -Tos and reevaluate your list. Select the top five of your experiences. They should have the following qualities:

1. You feel proud of the outcome.
2. It needs to be one of your favorite experiences, you thoroughly enjoyed it.
3. You need to recognize you are good at the activity.
4. You had to meet and overcome a challenge or objective (very important).
5. You feel you made a significant contribution to the success of the situation

©Susie Mathews 2004 All rights reserved

Then if you would like to go on with your group in this session, have them start to flesh one or two of their situations into a C.A.R. (Challenge Action Results) story. Eventually they will want to do all ten situations. Let them each share a situation, as you did with your small group.

We will start with this, and I will share with you how we can build onto this in your next group sessions in the next posted tip.

Good luck – have fun!!! Remember it’s supposed to be fun. Let me know if I can help you.

Take care and …

“Keep it Passionate”

Susie Mathews

Susie@winning-directions.com

262-391-3828

www.cashinonthepassion.com