Archive for the ‘Attitudes’ Category
Wednesday, August 31st, 2011
 Two people can view the same situation entirely different. One may see the glass half empty; another sees the glass half full. Both observations are correct, but the subtle difference in thought process and phrasing is important. The former is bemoaning what isn’t and the latter is appreciating what is. The way you view and describe a situation greatly influences how you feel about it and how you respond to it. You have the power to choose how you see life. You always have the option of viewing situations in either a positive or negative manner.
When someone asks you how you genuinely feel about yourself, what thoughts first come to your mind? Do you instinctively think about your shortcomings and failures, or do you think about your worth and potential? Your view of yourself affects your development. When you focus on your potential, you foster vision and motivation for growth. When you expect positive outcomes, you will be more inclined to work for and get them. If you motivate employees and create an environment where they want to succeed, they will be more likely to do so. If you have positive expectations, they will strive to live up to them. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe said, “Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and help them become what they’re capable of being.”
When you see life positively, you will be in a stronger position to ward off the negative influences that constantly bombard you. You will be able to set your goals and sustain your efforts to achieve them. Take an inventory of your internal attitudes. Listen closely to your dialogue with yourself. You will become increasingly aware of the many negative thoughts that you may entertain on a daily basis.
Be conscious of your thoughts and make a commitment to change those negative thoughts into positive commitments. Just as you exercise your body to make it healthy, exercise your mind with positive thoughts that begin with “I can” and “I will.” You have no doubt encountered people who move forward through life with vigor and enthusiasm. They seem to possess an indefinable quality that propels them over and around obstacles. They don’t get discouraged, and they don’t indulge in self-doubt or self-pity. That quality is a positive view of life. You can almost hear them saying aloud to themselves, “I can” and “I will,” and as a result they do!
Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 30 years, RAC has been the first choice among business partners for creating successful business consultants and coaches. For more information visit www.resourceassociatescorp.com or contact RAC directly at 800.799.6227.
Tags: Attitudes, development, focus, full, glass half empty, influence, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, negative, positive, RAC, resource associates, Success
Posted in Attitudes, Personal Development, Success | 1 Comment »
Friday, June 17th, 2011
We have talked in previous articles about the importance of having a clearly defined vision—identifying what you truly want and sincerely desire. We have also discussed that in addition to a clearly defined vision, you also need to define your core values, which help you choose and commit to what you believe in and how you want to be known.
The next critical step is to develop the success attitudes needed to help you realize your vision. Your attitudes play a critical role in your success. Your belief in yourself and your ability to achieve the results you desire will influence the way you deal with others. A negative attitude about yourself and your worth or about the worth of others will be like an anchor holding you back from success. A positive attitude becomes an internal motor that will drive you to accomplishment. Positive attitudes are synonymous with high self-esteem, and both are developed as a result of values and beliefs that recognize the worth of self and others. People who feel good about themselves produce better results.
Behavioral scientists have long realized that our behavior is linked closely with our attitudes and that if we want to improve behavior and outcomes, we have to improve the way we think. If you are to implement new ideas, new plans, and visions for excellence, you have to change attitudes and improve thinking. New thinking won’t work with old attitudes, and new results won’t work with old thinking.
The way you think, your attitudes, are a result of the events you have experienced thus far in your life and how you feel about those events and their outcomes. Your perceptions of yourself, of others, of your worth, and the worth of others are also a result of your past experiences.
The key to developing stronger success attitudes is twofold. First, recognize that your attitudes have been developed over time, and they can be changed or developed to be more conducive to your success and desired outcomes. You are 100% in control of developing your attitudes of success. Second, realize that any meaningful and lasting change must occur over a period of time and evolve from conscious, daily input of positive and growth-oriented ideas. Success attitudes result from repetitive and positive input over a period of time. Develop constant reminders, which will help you keep your vision and your strengths in clear focus. These reminders have the capability of exciting you when obstacles seem insurmountable, as well as helping you feel good about yourself when moments of self-doubt creep into your thinking.
One of the most common forms of successful attitude reinforcement is the regular use of affirmations. An affirmation is telling yourself in times of doubt that which you know to be true other times. More specifically, an affirmation is a positive statement, which describes the person that you want to become. The power of affirmations can best be understood when we realize that our mind doesn’t know the difference between real and imagined. Affirmations help you utilize this phenomenon to your advantage. By continuously imaging yourself succeeding or winning, your positive belief system is reinforced and you can become anything you choose!
Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 30 years, RAC has specialized in helping businesses and individuals achieve high levels of excellence and success. Learn how at www.resourceassociatescorp.com or contact RAC directly at 800.799.6227.
Tags: affirmations, Attitudes, new thinking, old thinking, positive attitudes, Success, success attitudes, Values, Vision
Posted in Attitudes, Vision | No Comments »
Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011
Many people are familiar with Yoda, a very wise Jedi Master from Star Wars, who was charged to train Luke Skywalker in how to use his “force.” This quote is from the scene where Luke was trying to mentally, by using his “force,” pull his plane from the muck of a swamp. Luke told Yoda he would try and he failed.
A very influential mentor of mine used to say time and time again. “There is no A for effort in business.” I grew up like many with the belief that trying my best was good enough. However, I have learned in 25 years of business that there is a strong connection between these two quotes. “There is no A for effort” really means it is all about the results you achieve and it is not about the attempt and to Yoda’s point, trying is merely an attempt.
In order to accomplish results and excel at what you do, you must have the skills but more importantly you need to believe you can do it. Trying is a self-limiting belief. After Luke attempted and failed, Yoda used his “force” to save the plane. Luke watched in amazement and when Yoda was finished, Luke said to Yoda, “I don’t believe it.” and Yoda’s response was, “That is why you fail.”
Belief is powerful. When you believe you can achieve something no matter how challenging, big or small, you will commit to do what is necessary to make it happen. You will learn what you need to learn. You will commit whatever time is necessary and you will seek out qualified assistance when needed. Because your belief is so strong you will access whatever resources are necessary to make it happen and you will cross the finish line victorious.
An attitude of trying will never propel you to take the extra step because your measuring stick of “I tried” gives you permission to walk away based on what is believed to be a good enough effort. People and businesses often fall short due to this simple but powerful belief. I mentioned earlier that belief is powerful. Therefore whether you believe in mediocrity or results, you will achieve what you believe.
Yoda also told Luke to “unlearn what you have learned.” If you are used to “trying” unlearn your way into a new belief of achievement. Here are some ideas that may help you.
- Use positive affirmations and say them multiple times a day.
- Surround yourself with people who will positively reinforce your plan and push you to excel.
- Align with a coach to hold you accountable to your personal development.
- Find a mentor who has accomplished similar results to what you are looking for and become a sponge.
- Become a voracious learner.
- Surround yourself with positive messages.
- Disconnect from the naysayers in your life. Your success has nothing to do with their ‘I tried and can’t’ attitude so don’t let them hold you back.
Luke finally got it. So, when will you?
Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 30 years, RAC has specialized in business and management consulting, strategic planning, leadership development, executive coaching and youth leadership. For more information visit www.resourceassociatescorp.com or contact RAC directly at 800.799.6227.
Tags: attitude, belief, Coach, failure success, jedi, luke skywalker, Mentor, star wars, Success, yoda
Posted in Attitudes, Coaching | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, November 24th, 2010
As we become more specific about our goals and begin to acquire more knowledge and skills in developing others, our chances of success will greatly increase. The more clear we are on what we want, the more power we will have to achieve it. We all have the means within us to free ourselves from the constraints of early negative conditioning. Attitude change is a result of internal understanding and acceptance.
Once you are able to begin the process of helping people develop positive and possibility attitudes, you create even more possibilities. It’s rather like knowledge and learning. Generally, the more you know and learn, the more you realize there is to learn. The more you focus on possibilities, the more possibilities seem to be possible. High expectation and positive attitudes lead to high performance. High performance leads to higher expectations. Individuals and teams go through four stages of development before they become high performers.
Stage 1: In the beginning, you may find that as people move into uncharted waters and begin to perform tasks and make decisions that are new, they will need a great deal of attention from you. Anytime there is a need for new knowledge or apprehension about the outcomes, people will require direction. Many will have to be shown how to perform a particular task. Others will need explanation, information, and instruction. Most will still look to you for decisions and priorities. Your behavior at this stage should be highly directive. You will need to provide knowledge and model behavior to help people learn, understand, and develop competence. This requires time and patience. That outcome, however, is more time for you because as they become competent, they are more willing to perform functions that once took your time.
Stage 2: As people become more competent in their roles and their attitudes are more positive, the need for highly directive supervision and instruction diminishes. Your role then becomes that of a coach. Coaches still provide direction, suggestions, and input, but begin to elicit more feedback, and decisions are frequently made jointly. As confidence and competence grow, people will begin to make suggestions and provide you with input and ideas. Your behavior needs to be supportive and focused on mutual goal setting, high recognition, and praise for accomplishments. This two-way process creates a tremendous opportunity to lead people to even higher levels of performance.
Stage 3: As people become more confident about their ability to perform their jobs successfully, you can empower them to make decisions that influence the outcomes. Delegate authority to solve problems and make improvements. Enhance personal responsibility and accountability. Create additional opportunities. Be highly supportive but less directive. People need to feel like they have control over those factors which affect their destiny. As they control more of their activities, you can spend less time managing people and processes and spend more time growing the company. Developing people has immense benefits for the future.
Stage 4: At this final stage, people want to do their jobs and they have developed the competence and confidence to know they can. They can be counted upon to make decisions, implement change, achieve their business goals, and positively impact the success of the organization. They will require very little supervision from you. Provide support, but refrain from over managing that which they know how to do. Instead, their greatest need will be your leadership. They will look to you to provide the direction, the values, and the behaviors that they can emulate to help build their divisions, departments, and people. They will seek new and better ways to do business.
Seek out potential leads in your organization. Create an environment, develop the personal skills, and nurture the innovation that can ensure your competitive advantage. Meeting the challenges that you will face tomorrow will require you to drive leadership qualities throughout your organization because it will require everyone to see beyond traditional methods and expected outcomes. The future belongs to those who create it!
Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 30 years, RAC has specialized in helping businesses and individuals achieve high levels of excellence and success. Learn how at www.resourceassociatescorp.com or contact RAC directly at 800.799.6227
Tags: accountability, Attitudes, delegate, high performance, Leadership, RAC, Resource Associates Corporation, responsibility
Posted in Attitudes, Leadership | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 17th, 2010
Your attitude concerning yourself and others are major factors in your success and your ability to lead. They will either stimulate or stifle creativity, progress and the ability to relate to other people. Your attitude is your advance person. It walks into a room before you do. It is generally several feet in front of you. It shouts who you are and what you value louder than any words you speak.
You have feelings about how you think things should be, how you think people should act, and how you think situations should be handled. You’ve thought this way for some time. It’s now the way you think. These thought patterns set off a chain reaction that determines the outcome of all that you do. An attitude prompts a tendency to characteristically react to people, situations, or things in a certain way. It works something like this: what you think about a situation will cause you to adopt a certain attitude toward it; that attitude will then prompt you to behave or act in a certain way; how you behave will then determine what kind of results you get. Thus, attitudes and results are directly related; they exemplify the natural laws of cause and effect.
Attitudes are formed in almost the same way as other habits. The big difference, however, lies in two steps of the formation process. While habits are formed by testing some type of external response, such as tying a tie, or adding cream and sugar to your coffee, many of our attitudes are developed through the formation of internal emotions, opinions, and beliefs long before we are able to understand their effect. We judge a habit as being good or bad by seeing the external results that it yields. However, we tend to evaluate our attitudes according to the internal satisfaction that our emotions, beliefs, and opinions give us, rather than the behavior that follows.
The impact that this has on our daily relationships is enormous. If you believe that the people who look to you for leadership are basically lazy, not highly motivated, and without much potential, chances are that they will prove you right. However, if you believe in the inherent worth of all human beings, their right to dignity, respect, and fair treatment, you probably generate a great deal of trust and a high level of motivation. If you are leading and managing people who have developed negative attitudes and low self images, you will have to help them develop their attitudes and beliefs if you hope to help them improve performance. While you cannot make anyone change their attitude—you can help them to change.
All new experiences carry with them some degree of anxiety, doubt, or fear. Changing attitudes is no different. You may find yourself and others resisting change at first, and that is quite natural. Understanding of that resistance will help you overcome it. Consequently, it is helpful to understand there is a proven process for change.
Conceptually, to change your attitudes you must be willing to sit down and take an inside look at yourself. We are products of everything we have inherited and were exposed to. We are a product of family, friends, disasters, triumphs, role models, leaders, experiences, and much more. We have all the means within us to free ourselves from the constraints of negative conditioning. Attitude change is a result of internal understanding, acceptance, and action!
Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 30 years, RAC has specialized in helping businesses and individuals achieve high levels of excellence and success. Learn how at www.resourceassociatescorp.com or contact RAC directly at 800.799.6227.
Tags: attitude, habit, Leadership, opinions, RAC, relationships, Resource Associates Corporation, Success, the change process
Posted in Attitudes | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 3rd, 2010
“Success is determined by our willingness to achieve and the spirit upon which we assume risk and responsibility.” Jan DeLory
If you read this quote and focus on the words that were selected, it packs quite a powerful punch. Success is defined in very individual and personal ways. Some people define success financially, some by the success of their children, some by professional title and status, and some by material items such as the size of the house or the brand of the car sitting in the driveway. How you define success is important to you and to you alone.
However, success by whatever definition is often elusive because of our ‘willingness to achieve.’ How many times have you heard a team member, an employee, family member, or friend say they wanted to achieve something: make more money, buy a new car, earn a promotion, etc., and in subsequent conversations they share their unending frustrations about why they are not accomplishing what they want. Sometimes our desire to achieve something far out weighs our willingness to achieve it. Willingness to achieve means doing what is necessary and having the appropriate attitudes to drive the required activity. Developing and maintaining appropriate attitudes takes courage, the courage to think and behave differently in order to achieve different results. Creating new habits of thought that link directly to desired results takes commitment that can’t waiver when challenges present themselves. Achievement worth having will take extra effort and dedication to the outcome—true success is never easy.
Do you have the spirit to assume the risk and responsibility for your success? Are you confident enough in what you want to achieve that you can say with confidence that you will take personal responsibility and face the risks of success head on? When working with people, one of my biggest frustrations is what I call the “success shell game.” Just like the street game where the shells are moved around in a random pattern for the person to identify which shell the pea is under, many individuals who find success elusive, are just moving the shells of their life around and around. In this case, each shell represents an outside force or circumstance which they believe is the reason for lack of results.
I couldn’t do it because …
It didn’t happen because …
It would have happened if only …
The truth of matter is that most times the obstacle lies deep within us. In the equation of success the only variable you can control with 100% certainty is you.
Most people know Oprah as one of the most iconic faces on TV as well as one of the richest and most successful women in the world. Oprah faced a hard road to get to that position. She endured a rough and often abusive childhood as well as numerous career setbacks including being fired from her job as a television reporter because she was “unfit for TV.” Stephen Spielberg’s name is synonymous with big budget. He was rejected from the University of Southern California School of Theater, Film, and Television three times. He eventually attended school at another location, only to drop out to become a director before finishing. Thirty-five years after starting his degree, Spielberg returned to school in 2002 to finally complete his work and earn his BA. Finally, Winston Churchill, a Nobel Prize winner, twice-elected Prime Minster of the United Kingdom wasn’t always as well regarded as he is today. Churchill struggled in school and failed the sixth grade. After school, he faced many years of political failures, as he was defeated in every election for public office until he finally became the Prime Minister at the ripe old age of 62.
These are just three examples of individuals who wanted to achieve success and they had the courage, the willingness, and the spirit to do what it takes to make it happen. They did not let outside circumstances or obstacles stop them, and they refused to let their own attitude be the biggest obstacles of all.
Your success is linked to your attitude. Do you have the courage to do what is necessary to succeed?
Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 30 years, RAC has specialized in business and management consulting, strategic planning, leadership development, executive coaching, and youth leadership. For more information visit http://www.resourceassociatescorp.com/ or contact RAC directly at 800.799.6227.
Tags: attitude, courage, oprah, resource associates corp, stephen spielberg, succeed, Success, winston churchill
Posted in Attitudes, Succession | No Comments »
Wednesday, July 7th, 2010
 Often when succumbing to frustration, businesses and individuals find success to be a fleeting proposition. There is no question that success is a journey, but it can become a very manageable and measurable journey focused on desired outcomes and results. There is a significant difference between wishing for success and accomplishing success. And, that difference makes all the difference in the world!
Successful businesses and successful people have a long list of attributes that contribute to and foster their accomplishments. However, the objective of this article is to focus on five foundational attributes that apply to both personal as well as business success. Understanding and committing to these five core attributes will definitely propel you to a higher level of success.
Perspective: For the last three summers the Food Network has run the show “Who The Next Food Network Star.” Within the first several weeks of the season the judges inquire as to each contestant’s culinary point of view. What is his/her unique perspective on food, cooking, and the potential audience he/she may be in front of with this individual’s own show? Why would the audience at home want to watch their show and learn these recipes and techniques? Differentiation is critical as with your business and you. What is your business’s unique point of view? How does your business’ perspective differ from the competition? What are your unique set of beliefs to business and your life, and how can YOU capitalize on those?
Conviction: Having a strong belief in yourself and your business goes hand in hand with your unique perspective. On a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest) rate your belief in yourself and your belief in your business. Are your ratings where you want them to be? If not, why not? What you accomplished yesterday is a great measurement of the success of past decisions. However, your conviction or belief in yourself and in your business is a huge predictor of your future success.
Vision: Where do you want to go? What do you want to become? Why? Just like an organization’s vision your personal vision should be a short, succinct, and an inspiring statement of what you intend to become and achieve at some point in the future. Vision refers intentions that are broad, all-inclusive and forward thinking. It is the image that a business must have of its goals before it sets out to reach them. It describes aspirations for the future, without specifying the means that will be used to achieve those desired ends. Warren Bennis, a noted writer on leadership says: “To choose a direction, an individual (an organization) must have developed a mental image of the possible and desirable future state.”
Experience: Every individual and every business represents a unique set of skills and knowledge. How can you leverage those talents?
Attitude: “The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.” This quote by Charles Swindoll states that attitude is more important than many things. The remarkable thing about attitude is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past, and we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is control our attitude and stay focused. Your attitude is your greatest tool!
Your challenge is to review these five attributes and conduct an honest assessment of where you stand as it relates to your perspective, conviction, vision, experience, and attitude. Are these five attributes propelling you to success, or are they hindering your desired outcome? Based on your answer to the last question what additional steps do you need to take or what do you need do differently? Your outcomes are directly connected to your choices—so choose wisely.
Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 30 years, RAC has specialized in helping businesses and individuals achieve high levels of excellence and success. Learn how at www.resourceassociatescorp.com or contact RAC directly at 800.799.6227.
Tags: attitude, Attitudes, Bennis, conviction, perspective, RAC, resource associates, results, Swindoll, Vision
Posted in Attitudes | No Comments »
Thursday, June 3rd, 2010
 “A financial analyst once asked me if I was afraid of losing control of our organization. I told him I never had control, and I never wanted it. If you create an environment where the people truly participate, you don’t need control. They know what needs to be done and they do it.” - Herb Kelleher, Co Founder of Southwest Airlines
High performance people see things not only as they are, but also as they could be. This is the first step in creating an environment and structure where people truly participate and genuinely believe they are integral to the organization’s success. When people expand their focus on the possible, they begin to seek new and better ways of doing things. They realize they have the capacity to shape their lives rather than accept things as they are. Leadership is the norm, not the exception. Everyone is encouraged to examine situations and lead in response to them. Previous habits of “doing it this way because we have always done it this way” give way to new attitudes, innovative thinking, and process improvements. The philosophy “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it,” gives way to “regardless of how good it is, we can make it better.”
Mentoring people to higher levels of performance requires that you establish the conditions within which performance serves both the organization’s as well as the individual’s best interests. The structure and culture of the organization must support the efforts of the individuals. Everyone needs to realize that his or her best interests and personal successes are served by the success of the entire organization. If the environment is not conducive to supporting and guiding people to new levels of achievement, new skills and behaviors will not thrive. You cannot lead people to higher levels of achievement if the structures do not support the behavior.
The way people think leads to what they do. What people do leads to results. If you want to improve results, it makes sense to improve the way people think. Significant achievement is not likely without change, and change in behavior starts with a change in thinking.
You have no doubt heard the expression, “We are creatures of habit.” There is considerable truth to that statement, for almost all that we do and most of what we think is the result of habits that have been formed during the course of a lifetime. Much of what we do in a 24-hour period demands little conscious thought because we have developed habits that help us accomplish a number of things. Just as much of our behavior is habit, so are most of our attitudes. Attitudes are habits of thought. We have thought the same way about something for so long that it is now a habit. While some habits are useful in preventing us from having to consciously figure out the mechanics each time we confront a familiar situation, many habits keep people from stretching their capabilities and trying new, inventive, and possibly better ideas or techniques. Behavior and performance are likened to attitudes. If you want to improve performance, you have to improve the habits of thought that improve performance.
How are the “we have always done it this way” attitudes and habits holding your organization back from the success you need to achieve?
Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 30 years, RAC has specialized in helping businesses and individuals achieve high levels of excellence and success. Learn how at www.resourceassociatescorp.com or contact RAC directly at 800.799.6227.
Tags: Attitudes, Behaviors, habits, Herb Kelleher, Leadership, mentoring, peak performers, RAC, Resource Associates Corporation, Southwest airlines
Posted in Attitudes, Behavior, Leadership | 1 Comment »
Thursday, May 27th, 2010
Attitudes determine the way we treat people. They affect the way we perceive change. They influence our ability to set and reach goals. Attitudes affect our ability to realize and progress through Maslow’s levels of need satisfaction (http://www.abraham-maslow.com/). The following sequence may help you see the significance of attitudes.
Results: Each of us as goal seekers want to achieve certain results from our lives.
Behavior: The results we get depend upon our behavior, how we react to situations.
Attitude: The results we get depend upon our behavior and attitudes toward the people or events involved, and toward ourselves.
If attitudes are basically negative, goals will be set low, and it will be difficult to progress. Growth and promotion will be all but impossible until a positive mindset is developed.
You can identify people with negative attitudes by their actions and by their reactions. When presented with a challenge their focus will be on problems: what can’t be done, and why things won’t work. Their discussions will often revolve around negative issues and blame. They do not respond well to compliments and will even discount them. However, they remember every one of their failures and mistakes, and this memory stifles much of their activity. They are usually part of the problem not part of the solution.
If attitudes are basically positive, individuals will focus on possibilities and ideas for improvement. This will be evident in the way they treat people. They will be very comfortable giving others credit, and their transactions will be directed at making others feel better about themselves. They accept both constructive criticism and compliments with open consideration and appreciation. They are regularly part of the solution and rarely part of the problem.
It is important to understand that attitudes are developed very early in life. Years and years of early conditioning helped to develop the attitudes that many people carry with them throughout life. Much of early conditioning was negative, what you can’t do, where not to go, etc. For the most part, negative attitudes are far more prevalent than positive attitudes. Too many people think more often of what’s wrong, how they might fail, and why it won’t work rather than what’s good, what’s right, and how it can work.
On the positive side, since attitudes are developed, they can be changed. In fact, as a leader, you will frequently find yourself in a position to help people develop positive attitudes. The first step is understanding that what took years to develop will also require some time and effort to change. Daily encouragement is important. Positive input on a daily basis will help to replace some of the negative attitudes with positive ones. Audio books, articles, brainstorming sessions, affirmations, and seminars are some techniques you can employ to create positive input.
There are many ways and opportunities to create a learning organization with a focus on positive attitudes and possibility thinkers. Recognition programs, leadership opportunities, personal mentoring, and corporate coaching (http://www.resourceassociatescorp.com/whatwedo/lifebuscoach) are but a few ways to help your team develop the appropriate attitudes focused on goal achievement. One of the vital contributions a leader can make is instilling the desire and creating the opportunity for continuous improvement.
Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 30 years, RAC has specialized in helping businesses achieve sustainable results through leadership development and executive coaching. For information on creating a leadership succession plan visit www.resourceassociatescorp.com or contact RAC directly at 800.799.6227.
Tags: Attitudes, Behavior, Coaching, goal achievement, Leadership, Maslow, RAC, Resource Associates Corporation, results, Success
Posted in Attitudes | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, December 9th, 2009
Learning, growing, and changing is possible with the right attitude and focus. All individuals have the ability to master their individual talents and be the best they can be! There are people who scoff at this philosophy and espouse limiting beliefs. However, that is the fundamental difference between positive thinking and foolish thinking. We all have the innate ability to be the best of who we were meant to be.
Based on a 2007-2008 NBA survey, the average height of a player is 6’6”. It would be fairly inconceivable for a person with the height of 5’4” to make the NBA a long-term career choice. It is certainly a goal that can be aspired to however, physical limitations could present ongoing challenges. Is it foolish thinking for an individual of 5’4” to want to be an NBA star? Retired player, Tyrone “Muggsy” Bogues (Hornets, Warriors, and Raptors) who is 5’3” and Wizard’s point guard Earl Boykins who is 5’5” would probably disagree.
Many great people have overcome adversity and challenge to accomplish great things. Ronald Reagan spent his early life admittedly being an introvert, but during his Presidency he was coined “the great communicator.” Lance Armstrong won seven Tour De France races from 1999-2005 after battling and beating cancer. The acclaimed actor, Tom Hanks, admitted to being quite shy most of his younger years. Pablo Picasso overcame great poverty to become a renowned artist.
We are not born great at anything. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “All great speakers were bad speakers at first.” No leader, manager, artist, business owner, or musician started out great. However, the difference between average and great is the desire to develop and succeed, a commitment to do so, as well as a positive attitude and the belief that you will make it happen.
What do you desire to accomplish? What do you what to be known for or what will be your legacy? Define what you want to accomplish, achieve, do, and be. Be careful not to let your practical mind limit your dreams and ideas. Grant yourself permission to think big and out of the box. Make the commitment to define who you are supposed to be. Learning, growing, and changing takes work but the effort is worth the results.
The second step is making the commitment to pursue your dreams and take action. Establish and define a plan. Determine the destination and create a map to get there. Sometimes the steps necessary will be small, and sometimes you may have to take a leap of faith but trust your vision. Your contributions will make a difference to many, so failure should not be an option.
Finally, remember that positive thinking will get it done. That is not to say you will not face obstacles and adversity as success does not come easy. It has been my experience that nothing of significant value ever comes easy or free. However, your focus and your attitude will give you what is necessary to create the right solutions and the next best steps. You can’t control what happens around you but you can certainly control how you react. Your attitude and positive mindset are your secret weapons to success as you define it. Don’t let anyone or any circumstance take away your secret weapon as it is far too important to your contributions.
Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 30 years, RAC has specialized in business and management consulting, strategic planning, leadership development, executive coaching, and youth leadership. For more information visit www.resourceassociatescorp.com or contact RAC directly at 800.799.6227.
Tags: attitude, Earl Boykins, Lance Armstrong, Muggsy Bogues, NBA, Positive Thinking, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Ronald Reagan, Success, Tom Hanks, Tour De France
Posted in Attitudes | 13 Comments »
|
