People generally have a fairly good understanding of basic time management techniques, and almost everyone knows how to plan and prioritize. Most people know they should be more organized. The problem is that very few of us always do what we know we should do. Your success does depend on a successful time management system. Think about some accomplished people you know. Do they do what they say they are going to do when they say they will do it? Do they keep their word? The answer is probably ‘yes.’ People who keep their word consistently create power and focus in their lives. Together, power and focus provide the ability to be more effective in shaping events and circumstances. Effectiveness, in turn, enhances our feeling of well being. The better we feel; the more successful we are.

The “Formula for Well Being©”demonstrates that before we can keep our word, we need to give our word. Giving our word creates the potential for us to keep our word, which in turn creates the power and focus to be more effective.

Achieving more power and focus through mastering the right time management techniques is a skill, a mindset, and a lifestyle and it can be adopted by anyone who …

• Wants to feel more in control,
• Wants to attain more out of life,
• Wants to achieve success in business while enjoying the pleasures of a personal life,
• And, wants to reduce stress and realize more life balance.

Define a time management habit that you wish to develop. Be as specific as possible.

Negative habits in our lives are destructive; positive ones provide focus and power. They help us achieve our goals. In order to rebuild habits, we must define precise behaviors for change. As Aristotle said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence is not an act, but a habit.” Your focus and power is dependent on your time management skills and behaviors. It is never too late to make a positive change, and a new year is upon us, so start today!

Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 30 years, RAC has specialized in business and management consulting, leadership development, executive coaching, and youth leadership. For more information visit www.resourceassociatescorp.com or contact RAC directly at 800.799.6227.

Your competing priorities are not going away. Therefore the question becomes how can you contribute your best to every priority as well as be the best you you can be!

Stop and breathe. Not every situation or competing priority deserves crisis status. Stop … take a deep breath and think. Take an extra minute to think about what the next best step really is. When you take these few minutes to breathe and think, you will be much less reactive and much more proactive. Living in a constant reactive state reinforces feelings of frustration, self-criticism, and self-doubt. Being proactive reinforces confidence and competence.

Forget perfection: Pursuing perfection is not an asset. Mistakes and challenges are inevitable; therefore, the pursuit of perfection only serves to focus on what did not go well or right. However, if you give yourself permission to believe you are perfect just the way you are, you give yourself permission to focus on your strengths. Commit to always maximize your strengths and you will find the flaws slip away. Babe Ruth held the title of most career home runs for 39 years with 714 until Hank Aaron achieved 755, and most recently Barry Bonds hit 763. All three of these men stood at-bat thousands of times in order to achieve this greatness. Many of those at-bats were even strikeouts. Focus on your home runs as they are what really matter and not your strikeouts! “I swing big with everything I got. I hit big or I miss big. I like to live as big as I can.” Babe Ruth

Focus on what is next. Get out of the past and focus on the future. Learn to widen your view so you do not miss any opportunities. “Illuminating the possibilities and opportunities that abound in everyday circumstances increases your options, energizes situations, and inspires you and others” (Cramer and Wasiak). Develop the habit of looking ahead. Where do you see yourself tomorrow, next month, or next year? All accomplishments begin with an idea, a seed, a dream. Create a Dream Inventory (copyright symbol) and list all of your ideas and dreams that matter to you—no matter how extravagant or insignificant they may seem. It’s impossible to emphasize strongly enough the power of creative and uninhibited imagination. Do not let life stifle yours.

Your unlimited success depends on your ability to magnify your strengths and focus on your future. Start today!

• Are you surrounding yourself with winners?
• Are you surrounding yourself with people who can help you achieve your goals?
• Are you developing relationships that align with your purpose and passion?
• Are you connecting with people who understand what is necessary to be successful and are able to support your success?
• Do the right people know who you are, what your business provides, and the value you can bring to a customer?

Success is defined by your purpose, your action, and your attitude; however your success can and will be limited by the relationships that you create and maintain both personally and professionally.

Here is a great story that reinforces this concept:

Swen Nater an orphan from Holland moved to the United States when he was three years old. He grew up in an American home and as a high school junior; he stood 6′ 11″. One would think Swen Nater was destined for basketball, but he was so gangly and awkward that he didn’t make his high school team until his senior year. Instead of going to college after graduation, like some of his teammates, he went to work at a garage as a mechanic.

However, when a local community college coach convinced the towering mechanic to give basketball another shot several years later, his body had matured. Over the next two years Swen became one of the best junior-college basketball players in the country. He was honored with Community College All American his sophomore year. With two years of eligibility left, several smaller colleges became interested in Swen and each offered him an opportunity to shine.

But his coach decided to take a shot at a higher opportunity. He called John Wooden whose current UCLA team was in the midst of one of the greatest dynasties in all of sports. He said “Coach, next year you have a guy coming in that everybody in America believes will be the greatest player to ever play college basketball: Bill Walton who towered at 7′ tall. The next biggest guy you have on your team is 6′ 9″ inches tall. In practice, Bill Walton is not going to get better because he’s not going to have any competition so give my guy a chance.”

Wooden ultimately agreed and ended up making Nater two promises. “One, you’ll probably never ever get off the bench. But two, you’re going to get a chance to practice every day against the best player in America.” It only took a second for Nater to accept the offered scholarship, and as John Wooden promised, Nater barely played.

Three years later, Bill Walton as a college senior was positioned to be the number one pick in the NBA draft. Everybody wanted to know who was the best center Walton played against during his senior year. Was it that guy at Pepperdine or maybe the guy at Kansas? Bill Walton looked to the end of the practice court and said, “That guy down there, is the best player I’ve played against. Swen Nater.”

And it was true! Swen Nater had gotten so much better by working and playing against Bill Walton that he became the first player in history to be selected in the first round of the NBA basketball draft while never starting a college game.

Swen Nater went on to play 12 years in the NBA and is now vice president of Costco.

You are who you associate with. The people you spend the most time with in your life will significantly contribute to your success or lack thereof.

Instead of having a friend that suggests limitations that are an effort to keep you from harm or to protect you from being disappointed, align yourself with a mentor within your industry or area of expertise to enhance your knowledge and marketable skills. Making the commitment to enhance your marketable skills and having someone to guide you will propel you to higher levels of success.

In addition to reviewing ideas and making decisions regarding personal growth and career development with a family member, spouse, or partner, develop a relationship with a professional coach. Family and partners often times say they are supportive but tend to impose their limiting attitudes to your situation. Having a coaching relationship where the coach’s sole responsibility is to focus on you and your objectives will provide an unbiased process, which can accelerate your results.

Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 30 years, RAC has specialized in business and management consulting, leadership development, executive coaching and youth leadership. For more information visit www.resourceassociatescorp.com or contact RAC directly at 800.799.6227.

Unhappiness is created by turning something that we want into a emphatic decision that I not only want it, but “I must have it!” Obviously, we need many things to live and to function positively. Food, water, and shelter are basic elements on that list. However, we live in a world and a culture where we tend to “need” many items that are not necessary for sustainable life. Often times, we believe these “needed” items communicate positive images about us to others, and we believe these items provide a level of security. However, we know intellectually that the total sum of those items does not provide personal happiness. That new car, more money, being thinner, owning a bigger house, are all examples of us needing something. However, when we turn our wanting or desiring of something into “needing” it, we often believe it will somehow make our desires more powerful and our actions more purposeful. This is typically not the case.

Unfortunately, the happiness (fear, anxiety, nervousness) resulting from turning this want into a need takes a great deal of our emotional energy and leaves little left to actually work towards what you want.

What if you could guide and measure your happiness by your ability to accomplish what you want through a structured process of measurable steps and outcomes? What if you could help your clients accomplish a higher level of success and happiness based on measurements that were meaningful to them? What if your dreams and goals could be your guide and your sustainable motivation? What if you could use your deepest desires to fuel a process that can help you accomplish wonderful things that you want for yourself, your business, and your family … your life?

Personal and professional fulfillment, happiness, and success based on individual desire and purpose is a direct result of a dedicated and structured “Action Plan Process.” The Action Plan Process is structured to help each user develop a Dream Inventory for the purpose of thinking bigger than life, to think outside of the box, and look beyond present capabilities and assets to create a list of desired grand outcomes. The Dream Inventory provides the vehicle to list all of your dreams, desires, wants, and goals. This list usually does not encompass any perceived “have to” and typically will not. We have a tendency to focus on what we perceive we need as opposed to stepping back and looking at what defines happiness for us and what is really important. The balance of the action plan is all about assessing where you are, deciding where you want to go, and getting there through a proven step-by-step process that works!

Happiness is obtainable and sustainable if we know our purpose, our path, and the action steps necessary to reach the destination … and you have the ability to pass that power on to every client you serve. Your process can help your clients achieve results, goals, personal and professional accomplishment, and yes, happiness!

What will you do differently that will directly translate into your happiness? What specific actions will you take to be focused on what really matters to you, your success, and the success of your clients? Like the young buck on the famous “Fish” video says, “It’s a choice!”

Do not let it pass you by!

Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 30 years, RAC has specialized in business and management consulting, leadership development, executive coaching and youth leadership. For more information visit www.resourceassociatescorp.com or contact RAC directly at 800.799.6227.

What should I do first?

What is the priority, really?

Do, I really want to start with “that” project?

Should I wait until this afternoon to start making phone calls?

Should I rework my web page/marketing material?

How about if I give _______ a call and see how they are doing?

Playing the “eeny, meeny, miney, moe” game is a success killer. This game will only provide distractions, reasons to “not” do something, and ultimately you accomplish nothing. When is the last time you worked for or visited a successful company and saw people accomplishing “nothing?”

Focus is what is necessary to accomplish goals and objectives that will lead to success as you define it. Focus provides a clear image, a clear path of direction.

How do you achieve focus?

Start with the end in mind. Decide where you want to go and what you want to accomplish. You need to design the “big picture” in order to select and implement the necessary action steps. What is the vision for your company? What do you want to be known for and why? As a result of accomplishing your vision, what will change for you personally? The answer to these questions will provide the fuel and passion necessary to drive you to success.

Establish a Plan. After you have established your desired vision, you need a plan … a plan that not only includes the vision, but a plan that lays out the mission (how you plan to accomplish the vision in a two to five year time frame). Internal and external assessments of the organization and your market place need to be conducted. Based on your direction and combined assessments, you can then create and proceed with sufficient and necessary critical goal categories that will bring the plan to life.

Implement the Plan. The critical goal categories are the broad goals established in your plan to begin the action planning process. Next, specific and detailed goals, which must meet the SMART criteria, need to be created. They will provide the daily, monthly, and quarterly plans as well as the needed measurement stick. These action steps must be determined with time lines, and the time commitments need to be immediately entered into your planning system. Having an unorganized time management system will inevitably cause challenges and lack of results.

Continuous Goal Review. Know what measurements are critical to the success of your business and monitor them closely. Seek out assistance through a coaching or mentoring relationship where someone helps keep your feet to the fire. Being in your own “successful” business does not allow you the luxury of “doing it tomorrow” or playing the “eeny, meeny, miney, moe” game. It requires the same persistence and unyielding focus on the critical measurements … just like when you held corporate responsibilities.

Make a difference today! We cannot control tomorrow … we can only plan for it, and yesterday is a cancelled check. The only thing we can control is today! Make a decision to review your action steps first thing every day and make the commitment to yourself (no matter what) that you will accomplish want needs to be accomplished. Long-term success comes from the dedication to do the right activity well and do it every day!

As they say in the ever-popular “FISH” video, “The choice is yours.” No one ever said that success was easy or “child’s play!”

Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 30 years, RAC has specialized in business and management consulting, leadership development, executive coaching and youth leadership. For more information visit www.resourceassociatescorp.com or contact RAC directly at 800.799.6227.