Take Action!

In my lifetime I know that I have had to overcome over planning which led to procrastination and not moving on my thoughts and ideas. Don't get me wrong planning is essential to being successful in any goals, whether they are personal or professional. There comes a time when you need to move froward and adjust as you go along. No plan for any goal is perfect. It's like whitewater kayaking. You know the path of the rapids, you know how to use the equipment, but you need to strap on the helmet get in the kayak, and start paddling.

Your goal is to pick the right current, and navigate around the hazards, but many times you smack into a boulder or you get turned upside down. That's when you learn the most and modify your plan from those experiences. The most important thing is to FOCUS on your goal and the plan you have developed, then FOLLOW THROUGH and take massive action, Be FLEXIBLE and learn and adapt as you go, and most of all do it FAST!

I don't mean fast as in speed, I just mean RIGHT NOW! So, what have you been meaning to do and planning on doing but you have not starting doing? Get STARTED!

Let Go, or Let Grow!

In our lives letting go is sometimes the hardest thing to do. Letting go of relationships that may not be supportive or even destructive. Letting go of possessions out of fear that we may be losing something. More often than not, when you decide to let go of the people or things in your life that aren't supportive, loving, and empowering you are actually setting yourself up to be surrounded with the people and things that you really need.

A good example is having a friend that tells you what you want to hear, and having one that tells you what you need to hear. It's what you need to hear that matters most. Are you someone who wants to keep the peace or find some inner peace in order to make yourself feel more centered, balanced, and empowered.

Who or what do you need to let go of? It's a great idea to sit down and make a let go list and a let grow list. Kind of like the traditional pros and cons list. Make a list of people, things, habits, or attitudes that you need to let go of. Now make a let grow list that has the same things only ones that are supportive and empowering. You'll find that this type of documented reflection will help you to find the answers that you have been seeking.

So, my final questions is; Are you going to Let Go, or Let Grow? It's up to you!

Influence vs. Authority

Very often when I speak to groups I ask the question when you were in school how many Teachers left a lifelong impact on you? The highest count I usually get is three. Why is it that number is so low? When you think about the dozens of teachers that you had in your school career from Kindergarten to high school or college that percentage is alarmingly low. My opinion is that it's because the Teachers that left a lifelong impact were Influencers not Authoritarians. Whether you are a Parent, Teacher, Entrepreneur, or CEO of a major corporation, you can lead by influencing others by first of all modeling the attitudes and behaviors that you would like others to demonstrate. Emerson said it best; "What you do speaks so loud I can't hear what you say." As an Influencer it is important to catch people doing things right. So often we all have a tendency to focus on what people are doing wrong. When that's the case then the people you want to lead and/or influence are closed to most of what you say expecting the negative influence. In order to influence you want people around you to be receptive to what you say when you interact with them. Influencing them is about helping them to move in a direction that empowers all. Parents want to influence their children to do the right thing and make good decisions and choices. Teachers want to influence their students to stay focused, and work hard on their school work. Business owners want to influence their employees to be independent thinkers and self starters. When it comes right down to it you can get more accomplished through influence rather than force.

What's Your Vision Prescription?

Goals, Vision, Imagination, and Innovation are personal ideas of how you see things that could be in your mind's eye. I know as a teacher, entrepreneur, husband, and parent I didn't understand why the people around me didn't always understand my vision and ideas when I shared them. I would be excited and share it with some people and they got it. Others however would look at me with a confused expression or one of disapproval. I then would get a bit frustrated, even upset when others didn't get it.


After awhile I started to realize that it wasn't their fault that they didn't get it. It was my fault in the way I shared it with them. I started to realize that not everyone has the same Vision Prescription. Just like having your eyes checked to see what type of vision you have 20/20/,20/40, near sighted, or far sighted I started to focus on what type of mind's eye prescription people had in order to share my thoughts and ideas. As a leader of a family, company, or classroom you must become the optometrist for new ideas.

20/20 Vision

If a person has 20/20 vision it is easier to share your ideas because they have a tendency to see clearer. Just like you, they have great vision in there own ideas, innovation, and imagination. 20/20 doesn't need vision glasses because they are capable of seeing and understanding out of the box concepts and ideas. They have visual thought process and often see in pictures. The picture of what could be is clear. Their vision is not blurred.

20/40 Vision

Those with 20/40 vision are capable of seeing the vision but still need assistance in making it more clear. They can and want to understand the vision, but it will be up to you to help them get all the way. You will need to give them a vision prescription that is not blurred. Perception is everything. If you look at something with total clarity it makes sense. If you see it with blurred vision then it is more difficult to grasp the same thing.

Near Sighted

Near sighted vision can see things off in the distance, but have difficulty seeing what is right in front of them. They have difficulty in grasping any vision, ideas, or innovation that are here and now. They have a tendency to use statements like one day, or if the weather was better, or if I had a different boss or spouse. They focus more on conditions rather than creating the conditions that create change.You may need the assistance of your 20/40 vision people to help them see clearer and grasp the idea that everything is first created by an idea and a vision of what does not already exist.

Far Sighted

Far sighted vision can't see things in the distance. They can however see things up close. In communicating to the Far sighted you need to share your ideas in chunks so that they can move closer to the distant idea or vision that you have. Remember with sharing you vision with the far sighted inch by inch and everything is a cinch.

So work on writing the correct prescription for the correct vision sight. It will be much easier to get others to see clearly.

Don't Get Stuck In The PLOP!

How do you handle stress, fatigue, and anxiety? We all have stress, but very few of us have developed a personal system of how to handle it. So often we get so stressed out that the only thing we can focus on is the stress, and like I have said before whatever you focus on expands. I know that in the past the things that stressed me out or caused me to worry seemed so large and after all was said and done they really weren't cause for all that worry and stress.

You need to come up with a series of questions that you ask yourself to analyze how important something is or isn't. This reminds me of a time that my wife and I wanted to take a vacation. We own our own business and vacationing was not always possible. Plus with three children it definitely was a challenge to say the least. Finding someone to keep the kids a major mission. So, Our oldest two children stayed with family. Close friends of ours offered to keep our youngest son who was six at the time.

This worked out great because their son Jimmy was good friends with our son, so we felt confident about the arrangement. We left and had a wonderful time in Jamaica for a week. When returning I remember walking into our friends front door only to be greeted by an excited and energetic Jimmy. Mind you, Jimmy was one of those six year olds that had a vocabulary as if he were an adult that shrunk. He came running up to me and said " MMMMr. Elkins you wwwwon't believe what we did". I quickly laughed at his excitement and at the fact that he was so excited he was stuttering. I responded and said "What did you do?. He said "WWWWe went to the Circus". I then said" That's awesome". Jimmy said"NNN0! That's not the best part". I then said "What's the best part?" He then said "We saw an elephant!" I said "That's really cool." Jimmy again followed with "TTThat's not the best part." Finally I said to Jimmy "Tell me the best part". Jimmy then said" We were standing behind the elephant and we moved out of the way just in time, because the elephant lifted his tail up and plopped on the ground."

At this point I said to Jimmy " It's a good thing you stepped out of the way or you would have gotten stuck in the plop." After that I looked at my wife and said I can use this. She looked at me and just shook her head. Do you allow yourself to get stuck in the plop when most of the time you can step out of the way. It's important for us to remind ourselves that we have the power to put things in perspective in such a way that things just aren't as stressful as we make them out to be. One more thing. Learn how to say NO. That has been a constant challenge for me. Taking on so much wanting help others and make a contribution that the only thing that happens is STRESS. So, step out of the way and don't get plopped on.

The Power Of Three.

For years I have had that things to do list in my planner and always ended up feeling a bit frustrated at the end of the day when reviewing what I really got checked off. The list was always too long, and pretty much unrealistic in reference to getting things done. I decided that less is more and adopted the idea of The Power of Three. I still have my things to do list, however I have three things and only three things to accomplish on it in order of priority.

Number one being the most important item that needs to get done. If I only get that done then the feeling I link to it is one of satisfaction and accomplishment. Number two then becomes number one and I add one more to the list. After working this idea for a period of time I realized that it was effective in many different areas of my life.

In my business I have the three foot rule for customer service. When I train my staff I explain to them that we want to condition our clients that three feet before they walk into our business they should start to experience good feelings and a sense of positive anticipation. After taking three steps into the business we as staff members should have confirmed that expectation with how we greet them. When interacting with anyone we want to

The Power of Three also works well with personal relationships at home. When you get home, what happens in the first three minutes pretty much sets the tone for the rest of the evening. If you are in a relationship, how you interact with that other person in the first three minutes is crucial. Do you walk in and look around for things to complain about or do you say " I am glad to see you". That makes the difference.

Another area the Power of Three works is Mind, Body, and Spirit. When it comes to mind I often ask people; What was the last book that you read? The response is many times one of confusion. I also ask what are they learning. Whether it is playing the guitar, painting, taking a college course, or learning a new language. Learning new things expands you as a human being. Become a lifetime learner. Remember if you are not expanding then you are contracting. Come up with three things that you could learn to expand your mind. Take one at a time.

When it comes to body. What physically are you doing to be active, eat better, and create the energy that helps you to be more enthusiastic about life in general. The nutrition and exercise industry is a multi billion dollar a year industry. One of the things it does not focus on is what is practical for you. It could be walking everyday for twenty minutes. Very often when I work one on one with students I ask them; How many push ups do you do everyday? The response many times is none or I am not good at push ups. Well could you do three push ups a day? Could you make three healthy food choices? Start small, but be consistent.

The Human Spirit needs to be constantly renewed. It reminds me of Eagle behavior. Most people don't realize that when eagles fly at lower altitudes they are constantly being attacked by crows pecking at them. The fact is, that an eagle could clearly focus on pursuing the crows and kill them. However the eagles strategy is to fly to a higher altitude that the crows cannot reach. What inspires you to fly to a higher altitude? It could be your faith, reading inspiring literature, or that green time of getting closer to nature. Find out what that is for you and make sure you do it when your spirit feels weakened. I think you will see the difference.

What's your Bucket List?

We have all heard of the bucket list. That's that list of things that you want to do before you die. I was really moved by the Movie with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman titled "The Bucket List". After watching it I pondered what my bucket list was. I started to think about things that I wanted to accomplish, places I wanted to travel, things that I wanted to learn, and people I would like to meet. Then it came to me, instead of emptying the the bucket I wanted to create a fill the bucket list.

Isn't life really about the journey not the destination. It's the ride that's most exciting. Accomplishing goals is only one small piece to life. Sure you get that sense of completion and accomplishment. But then what? For me owning or acquiring more STUFF is not important at all. When you are on your death bed will you think about all the stuff you had? Or will you think about relationships, experiences, travel, your contribution to your family, community, and the world?

Think of the times when you went somewhere you have never been. When you experienced something like a roller coaster ride for the first time. When you did something totally selfless for another person without expecting anything in return. That's the most meaningful way to fill your bucket.

Life Lesson:

1. Make a list of things that you can fill your bucket with.
2. Break it down into people, places, and things, with more emphasis on the first two.
3. Next to each one write down the feeling you will experience when you put them in your bucket.

Now get started! Remember if you don't take the time to do the lessons then you are no closer to filling that bucket.