Dressing Up…

November 30, 2007

Today, I gave a keynote as the last program of a 4 day event for a large national association.  The program went very well and it was a great time to connect with people who had questions on Simply World Class performance.  For me, that’s always one of the best parts of my work if not the best – connecting with individuals and helping them make a difference in their career, business or life.

At the end of the day, I was reminded of a truly wonderful aspect of people… we get dressed up from time-to-time.  At the end of the day was a large gala to celebrate their year.  At least, that is the excuse.  In many ways, it is truly just a great opportunity to celebrate in general and to have some fun.  And, because it is a “gala” everyone comes out in their finest dresswear.

Ladies came in a variety of evening wear, smart classy outfits or just with a little extra sparkle in some way.  The men came dressed to impress as well.  Everyone looked fabulous no matter what they were wearing.  And, I would suggest that everyone “felt” great.  People knew that they looked great.  There was by no means a competition for best dressed.  People just dressed up because they deserved it!

Let me repeat that… They deserved it.  Do people always believe that they deserve it, that they deserve to look and feel great.  Probably not anywhere near as much as we should.

It was a great night with great music, great food but most importantly great friends.  It was a time to celebrate and get a little dressed up.  I can’t wait for my next “dress-up” opportunity… next Saturday night at the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers national convention’s ball.  Here’s to deserving it.

When was the last time that you got dressed up?  Why don’t we get dressed up more often – either literally or figuratively.  We’re now entering the Christmas season in North America.  It’s time get out there and get a little dressed up… and don’t forget to have some fun too.

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Posted by Paul Frazer

Mindset and Your Dentist

November 27, 2007

Every time I end up at my dentist’s office, I am reminded of a few things related to the work that I do.  One of the things that I’ve discovered that defines those people who are successful is the issue of control.  Everyone is more successful when they are in control.  When I’m coaching individuals, I will inevitably work with the individual around creating more control. 

 A visit to the dentist’s office is an interesting experiment in control.  It is one place in life where you relinquish direct control over yourself.  You start by waiting in the waiting room.  Simple enough but you are now subject to the time-lines of others.  Then, when you are brought to the examining room, many people have to enter into a conversation of defeat… where they were not as successful with their promises from the last time they visited.  But, the most significant issue of direct control that you give up is your personal space.  You will shortly be allowing someone who is an acquaintance to sit very close to you and put their fingers in your mouth!

I am sure that you will agree with me how you give up a certain amount of control and, in some ways, are subordinate to the dentist, nurse or hygienist.  Rest assured, however, that they too are giving up some control.  They are putting their fingers in your mouth and are trusting that you will not…. damage their fingers.  :-)

So, a part from the obvious loss of control, what can a trip to the dentist teach us.  I think it’s a great playground for learning how we are going to react to a situation where we do not have complete control.  In other areas of life this is where you will be able to make great strides to even more success.

For me, I am truly lucky.  I have a great dentist and dental team.  I consider the visits to be a time to just sit back and relax.  Have I always done the best that I could have with flossing… maybe not.  But, I do realize that these individuals have my health care as their utmost concern.  That’s pretty cool.

And, regular trips to the dentist help create that external accountabililty that is so important for us to reach our goals – dental and otherwise.  And, good dentists know that.  But, alas, that’s a topic for another post.

Here’s to your health, in all ways!

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Posted by Paul Frazer

Good News… Live Longer…

November 23, 2007

A dutch study suggests that optimism could help you live longer.  999 elderly Dutch people were followed and 9 years later death rates for optimistic men were 63% lower.  Optimistic women were 35% lower than their pessimistic counterparts.  The Dutch study tried to find causality by mapping optimism to healthy behaviours.

The end result is that as one might expect optimistic people lead healthier lifestyles and thus can live longer. 

The good news is that another study suggests that optimism can be learned.

As Spock would say, “Live Long and Prosper”

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Posted by Paul Frazer

Procrastination – I’ll look into the problem later…

November 22, 2007

Reading some research on procrastination, I found a little bit of interesting information (surprisingly not as much as I would have liked). 

The material discussed procrastination as not being a state of laziness but rather of active mental diversion.  The area between our intentions and our actions.  20% of the population can actually lay claim to being a “procrastinator” while most of us just put off some things some of the time.

In either case, what can you do to be more action oriented?  One suggestion they gave was to record your patterns of procrastination.  This is the same as the act of Observe in my Performance Shift Model.  It will give you clues as to what is happening and why.  And, will allow you create a reasonable strategy for dealing with it.

They also suggest recognizing the problem is often frustration (interesting.)  Or sometimes boredom, uncertainty or guilt.  In these cases they suggest that you promise yourself to try to work at the task for 10 minutes and then decide if you want to continue.

Not a bad suggestion for a number of reasons but one thing that is rarely offered as a solution but I find works well both for myself and others I work with is to plan your procrastination.  Yes, that’s right.  If you really aren’t going to get started on something then celebrate it.  Say, “Okay, I’m going to procrastinate…. for another 1 hour, and then I’m going to start on this at exactly 2pm.”  This does a couple of things.  First, it gives you a break or treat first.  Instead of task then treat, it is treat then task.  Not perfect but if it works, great.

And, second, the planned procrastination allows you to not get caught up in the mental gymnastics that people do when they’re procrastination.  You don’t end up wasting as much time.  This is really really important. 

If you’re going to procrastinate, at least be effecient with your time. 

What things do you do to help with procrastination?

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Posted by Paul Frazer

Value Investing…

November 21, 2007

One of my loves is investing and personal finance.  And, I’m presently reading a book that I’m really enjoying for a number of reasons.  First, it is offering me the opportunity to learn even more about investing (because there is always something else you can learn). 

But, what’s as important and less obvious is that it reinforces a couple of life and business truths.  The book is basically on the application of value investing (such as what Warren Buffet does.)  It suggests that when investing you should find a great company that is priced at a wonderful bargain and then sit and wait as it appreciates. 

What’s key here is that it is a great company.  It was great yesterday.  It is great today (although at a discount).  And, it will be great tomorrow.  The strength is the foundation and the inertia that that greatness provides.  And, as business people, volunteers, parents, athletes, we need to do the same thing.  We need to strive to be great people everyday.  We may have our off days.  We may be discounted from time to time but that shouldn’t prevent us from our greatness.

Also, value investing reminds us that as in all things it is value that is important.  What is the value that we are bringing to the table whether that be our businesses, our families, our charities, etc. 

I hope that all of us have great success in value investing…. in ourselves.

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Posted by Paul Frazer

Today… I am not going to stop, period.

November 20, 2007

Okay, today is one of those days.  I am being challenged with everything that I do.  Trying to finish my newsletter – The Performance Navigator – I was dogged with technical difficulties.  Even when I actually finished the article and was happy with the video that I had attached for my subscribers, I ended up fighting with technology.  And, I used to work in I.T. so I’m not easily stumped.  I kept going and did not give up.  I finally got my newsletter out and see that it’s possible that many of my subscribers did not get it… or will not get it since it may be filtered because of some of the code behind the scenes.  Frustrating.

But, this is only a fraction of the things that haven’t worked as planned today.  Another example, is my attempt to start to do some research.  Being behind of course in my day.  So, I’m looking for some research that I put aside on happiness, ironically.  I can’t find it for the life of me…. at least not yet. 

I decided to take a break and write this blog.  Why?!  Because I am not going to let my challenges get a hold of me.  Not today.  Most of the time, I’m pretty good with dealing with bumps in the road.  But, today, I am definitely not going to stop pushing forward.  I may fail but I’m going to keep pushing.

Okay, so I’m sure that you experience those challenging days.  What do you do?  What are your strategies?

I am putting this into perspective.  The stuff that doesn’t quite work today is not going to be that big a deal.  A colleague’s husband uses the phrase, “We’re not folding parachutes here are we?”  That puts it in perspective.

I also treat the process as a game.  I’m going to be challenged today and the name of game is pushing forward and quickly and efficiently as possible.  I need to make good decisions in a timely manner.

I hope your day is just amazing.  But, if it’s not.  I hope you’re going to blast through it and conquer the day anyway.  There’s nothing quite like not giving in!

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Posted by Paul Frazer

Look Up… Look Way Up

November 12, 2007

Sometimes, I recognize that I’ve had the same point of view for a little too long.  Now, I’m not talking about a prejudice or opinion about something.  I’m talking about just what I’m actually seeing.

I am fortunate to be able to enjoy both the city and the countryside on a regular basis.  We live in the country on many acres of beautiful land.  But, I also get to work within different cities with their different and yet equally interesting visual “candy”.  No matter where we work or live or play, I have found that we can far too often get stuck in looking ahead and only in front of us. 

To combat this, I will force myself from time to time – no matter where I am – to look up… way way up.  And, it is surprising what I’m missing.  I will also look down and be more perceptive as to what is below me.  And, of course, it is also possible to turn around an look at where you’ve just been. 

So, as silly as this may seem or as busy as you may think you are, I would challenge you to look around.  See what you’ve been missing.  It will help to put things in perspective.

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Posted by Paul Frazer

Living The Future – Remembrance

November 11, 2007

Today is Remembrance Day in this part of the world.  A day when we are asked to remember and honour those who have fought in wars, many of whom also died.  It was my honour today to be part of a wreath laying ceremony at our local war memorial and cenotaph. 

What stuck me about the ceremony today and a church service earlier was one specific way in which we can honour those who have fought for freedom and for our future.  Today, we can all work hard at living the future that these soldiers had been fighting for.  We can live each and every moment knowing that people sacrificed for our todays.  We can celebrate and live passionately in each moment.  We can enjoy what we have instead of worrying about what we don’t.  We can live the future right now that we have been given.

Lest we forget, we should also remember those people who are living or fighting in areas of war and conflict today.

And, most importantly, let’s all work toward a planet without any war or conflict.  Now, that would be success!

Peace.

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Posted by Paul Frazer

To Be Happy or Happier…

November 8, 2007

As much as I do a lot of research into what makes people high performers and the general principles that help people to succeed and be happy… sometimes I actually think about how it affects me.  For example, I was thinking about happiness and whether I believe that I am happier now than I was in my previous life before starting Mindscape.  What’s surprising is that having that thought I realized something that I often talk about.  Being happy and present in the moment.  I am not happier now than I was before.  I was not happier in the past than I am now.  The key is that I was happy then and I am happy now. 

Many things are different between the two times.  And, there is no way that we can compare the two times.  We need to be able to adjust our lives as our lives change to keep us happy and successful.  The key is not to become happier and happier.  The key is to continue to be happy as we journey through life and business.

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Posted by Paul Frazer

Brain Dead

November 1, 2007

 One belief that persisted for a very long time about the brain was that once it was done growing (relatively early in life) you had all the “brain” you were going to have.  It was believed that as neurons and others cells died off that was it for them.  It was also felt that the way that your brain was “wired” during its development was permanent.  If it was wired with certain abilities and traits… so it stayed for the rest of your life! 

One of the biggest things to be coming out of recent research is the fact that our brains do grow and alter over the course of our life.  That means that we can alter our brains.  We can continue to “improve” its structure.  This is important for diseases such as Alzheimer’s where working on cognitive ability is so important.  It is also as important for everyone because it tells us that we can continue to exercise our minds (like our other muscles) to improve “thinking” ability.  In fact, as much as we should be exercising our muscles, so should we be exercising our minds. 

There are programs out there that you can use.  I’ll list them in the days to come.

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Posted by Paul Frazer

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