Success Leaves Clues...
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One of the biggest hurdles is the  software that runs in our brains. It's almost like we have inadvertently  downloaded a virus that operates on our mindset slowing down our performance, speed and efficiency in achieving our goals.

Having coached and counselled thousands of clients, my experience tells me that it’s not so much ‘what to a manage to move forward” but it’s working out “how to move forward”.

This concept separates high performance/significance versus mediocre performance/existence.

Finding the sweet spot lies within us  but unfortunately most people and businesses are searching outside of  themselves. My observations are that people need to spend a lot more time  developing inwardly versus outwardly. Being successful or achieving more significance leaves clues.

The secret of getting ahead is getting  started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex, overwhelming
tasks into small manageable tasks. Then start on the first one. That doesn’t  mean it has to be done by you. I struggled for many years with the concept of  asking for help and delegating.

I had all these ideas in my head and I  had expectations of how things were to be achieved. It was just easier if I did
it, then it would be done the way I wanted it. It took me some time to give up  this mindset. Yes, the pressure cooker in my head had no room for more work or  more demands. The term “Let go”stuck with me one day. That was also a day I let  go of one of my former bosses. It has been one of the major secrets to my success.

I have found that being successful and improving performance leaves clues. I make it my business to help people find
the clues to achieve their success. Whether it’s a project, a new business venture, a new strategy or a new partnership.

The high performer goes searching for clues. The implications for not searching are obvious….

Here is something for you. “Nothing is really new”. It has been done before.

Okay, want to know more?

Whether it’s in the mind or on paper,  many of our issues, problems have been dealt with before. There is a concept of sameness everywhere we go. Many businesses have the same objectives, same challenges all over the world. There are 7 billion people in this world, all with creative and intelligent minds in their own right. We basically all share
the same DNA. The difference is that some people make different decisions about what they think about. These decisions combined with actions achieve different results.

The Clue

Personally, I tend to ask for help where I can. I don’t waste time in trying to always work the problem out. I have found
many people willing to help. On the flip side, I have encountered many people will not. Let go of them. These people control information because they live in a world of fear and insecurity. That is, they are attached to an imagined
concept of self-importance or attached to an image of themselves losing something. They are afraid of co-workers finding out the real person behind the position.

Do you know the person in the office who controls knowledge or skills in fear that someone might use it and look better than them?

Remember, by being a person who is a multiplier and not a divider of information makes very good sense. If your work area is not operating like this then you’re losing power and influence. Most importantly you’re losing staff engagement, customers and potential profit.

Many of us in the corporate world unfortunately have reinvented the wheel due to the fantasies of self-importance
which are underpinned by our self-limiting beliefs. The belief that we must achieve the task on our own and that we will be rewarded for our efforts. Too many people have the mindset that sharing the problem or asking for help is a
sign of weakness or incompetence. In fact, this is the hallmark of a successful leader, an enlarger and a multiplier.

Your job is to ask people smarter than yourself for the information.

It's knowing your people, knowing their skills and seeking out their abilities to assist you.

One of my suggestions is to review your business or project management knowledge management policy, processes and systems. I see much duplication, rework, overprocessing, overproduction, wasted effort, wasted talent, wasted time in meetings etc. Not good for people, not  good for profit.

Not real good at all….

We  are in knowledge worker economy…..Work smarter, not harder. People will thank you when you raise the following questions in your business or project meetings.

Is this the best way to do this? 
Is there a better way? 
What could we improve? 
Who will we get involved to help us?
When can we get started?

Challenge
Let go of fantasies of your  self-importance. That is “Ego”, stop saying“I” for one day at work.
Find someone like a coach, mentor or colleague to help you.
Write an action plan, do it, review it, change it, reward it.
Encourage your work area to have knowledge fairs, mentoring schemes, lunch and learn sessions or breakfast byte meetings tec.

Get Started, success leaves clues, the software is everywhere and free. So ask for it and keep asking….

Journey well,
Matt Cartwright
Inspiring People, Inspiring Business, Inspiring Results
© Copyright 2008 -12

The Art of Happiness in Unhappy Times

Recently I came across a number of people who were struggling with changes in the workplace, their role and the shift in their status and responsibilities.  Ahh thats....we have found someone else to do the job, thanks you can go back to what you were doing.  
It reminded me of the fragility of our work and our happiness. Is happiness based on external or internal factors?



Work places are also your inner places, that is how you think about the workplace counts.  You have influence.  I am surprised by how many people say "you can't change the situation or decision"  this is learned helplessness and fatal thinking.  No wonder we don't progress if we have a negative mindset.  We simply churn out the same 50% productivity and efficiency.  I wonder what the worst thing could be if we challenge the decisions and the status quo, the bureaucracy and stop being a victim.

Good advice heard this week.  "Man Up"

I was asked once at a course last year "what is your purpose in life?"   A bit confronting as this was a group I didn't know at all, nor had I thought about preparing for such a question.

I fumbled my response out, "to help people", but that didn't cut it.....I was challenged..... "isn't it to learn how to live with more happiness and help others do the same?"  They were right...  

That's what leads me to blog about happiness at work and home and hopefully you will find something that helps you or others. 

"I am the author of every next moment"  is my mantra.

Why? It helps me focus my thoughts, speech and behaviour at both work and play.  It helps me on the happiness journey... and that it is folks... some destinations are just not enjoyable, but I learn from them, sometimes it take me years to figure it out.

Maybe I'm a slow learner, but the teacher presents when the student is ready as the saying goes.

So this week, what the bleep is there to be happy about????? 

Here are some things I dug up in the  news media:

World poverty, war, famine, degradation of human rights, disease, suffering, homelessness, joblessness, broken families, abuse, 1 in 5 suffer from a mental illness, chronic disease, government corruption, dictatorships, employer layoffs, and so on, and so on.... aint it awfull, aint it awful.  Well yes it is.  Don't keep awfulizing.

I challenge you accept these four truths: 

1. Suffering exists
   
2. Suffering will continue to exist
   
3. There are ways to combat it
   
4. Practise ways that increase your resilience and happiness.

There is heaps of stuff written on happiness, world conferences,  thousands of self help books, courses etc.  Just Google it, megalinks everywhere....

The best and most current research that I suggest you go to is the website of University of Pennsylvania  and look up Authentic Happiness,Martin Seligman.  I'm also a major fan of the HH Dalai Lama's teachings on happiness as they are timeless, evidence based and practical and have thousands of years of  practised techniques.  His Holiness is always smiling, go  figure... his country Tibet was run out by the Chinese Govt of the time.

Key messages are to practice: 
generosity, compassion, kindness, forgiveness, tolerance, ethics, wisdom and concentration.

My message to you 
I share this with you because I can't post everything on this topic, nor should I try.. so here go a few ideas....in no order of merit.....

"be optimistic, practice gratitude, build intimacy, develop your personal strengths, let go, maintain a social/network, have a faith, practice mindfulness, maintain your health, take courage, change your mindset/attitude, practice being more adpatable/flexible, give up the need to control, give up trying to be perfect, go and volunteer, practice gift giving, go an travel, go and learn something new, make real love, get in touch with nature, find or create your meaning and purpose, let go of pride and be humble, that is let go of your ego.......make a choice to be happier and act on it daily, make it a habit, be thankful everyday.... we often create our own internal unhappiness...that my friend we have control over. 

No victims, no excuses please, just survivors

Still want more,okay....

8 Steps Toward a More Satisfying Life
Want to lift your level of happiness? Here are some practical suggestions from University of California psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky, based on research findings by her and others. Satisfaction (at least a temporary boost) cited in Time Magazine Time Magazine  January 17, 2005.

1. Count your blessings.
One way to do this is with a “gratitude journal” in which you write down three to five things for which you are currently thankful—from the mundane (your peonies are in bloom) to the magnificent (a child’s first steps). Do this once a week, say, on Sunday night. Keep it fresh by varying your entries as much as possible.

2. Practice acts of kindness. 
These should be both random (let that harried mum go ahead of you in the checkout line) and systematic (bring Sunday supper to an elderly neighbour). Being kind to others, whether friends or strangers, triggers a cascade of positive effects—it makes you feel generous and capable, gives you a greater sense of connection with others and wins you smiles, approval and reciprocated kindness—all  happiness boosters.

3. Savor life’s joys. 
Pay close attention to momentary pleasures and wonders. Focus on the sweetness of a ripe strawberry or the warmth of the sun when you step out from the shade. Some psychologists suggest taking “mental photographs” of pleasurable moments to review in less happy times.

4. Thank a mentor. 
If there’s someone whom you owe a debt of gratitude for guiding you at one of life’s crossroads, don’t wait to express your appreciation—in detail and, if possible, in person.

5. Learn to forgive. 
Let go of anger and resentment by writing a letter of forgiveness to a person who has hurt or wronged you. Inability to forgive is associated with persistent rumination or dwelling on revenge, while forgiving allows you to move on.

6. Invest time and energy in friends and family. Where you live, how much money you make, your job title and even your health have surprisingly small effects on your satisfaction with life. The biggest factor appears to be strong personal relationships.

7. Take care of your body. 
Getting plenty of sleep, exercising, stretching, smiling and laughing can all enhance your mood in the short term. Practiced regularly, they can help make your daily life more satisfying.

8. Develop strategies for coping with stress and hardships. 
 There is no avoiding hard times. Religious faith has been shown to help people cope, but so do the secular beliefs enshrined in axioms like “This too shall pass” and “That which doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.” The trick is that you have to believe them.

Journey well in your happiness,
Matt Cartwright
Inspiring People, Inspiring Business, Inspiring Results 
© Copyright 2008 -12