- African proverb

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Give more reminder…

We earn more challenges by overcoming more challenges.

Embrace your experience. Enjoy the weather.

(carpe diem, baby… you didn’t forget did you?)

weathered: (‘we-therd) adjective: seasoned by exposure to the weather

seasoned: (‘seez-ind) adjective: made fit by experience

(sounds good)
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If you’ve not seen it (outside the money hours or on a well-earned break)… Be inspired to think more and fear less with this favorite clip from the film Defending Your Life.

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I’m re-committing to Focus. I hope you’ll join me if you’re not already there.

You might be thinking I’m good at this given what I write and talk about, but (like many people) it’s a big challenge for me. (Can you imagine how difficult it’s going to be when our future generations get out here in the working world with us?)

My Distraction Diet Commitments…

Focus hours… Twice each work day, I will hold focus hours. From 9 am – 11 am and from 2 pm – 4 pm, I will become unavailable to anything but true emergencies. My phones will be off to anything inbound (no calls, no texts… airport mode on my cell). It’s only two 2-hour blocks of time where I’m unavailable to others. When I think I can’t do it and that people need to reach me because I’m so very important, I’ll remember that I’m not as important as I think I am.

Email… I will turn off email alerts and check it only twice a day (11:30 and 4:30). When I think that’s impossible because people need to reach me because I’m so very important, I’ll remember that I’m not as important as I think I am. (See below for letting people know how to get to you.)

Instant messaging… I will not do it. This would be like allowing someone to jump up on my desk anytime they want and interrupt my workflow (and I certainly don’t want to do that to anyone else). After all, I’m a grown-up.

Web… I will not use the web personally during my money hours (mine are between 8 am and 6 pm each work day with a break for lunch). When this gets tough because of my addiction to distraction, I’ll remind myself again that I’m a grown-up.

Phone… I will not give my attention to my iPhone when people I know are around me. If it vibrates (a ringtone? please) when I’m in a face-to-face conversation I will do my best to ignore it and give it attention when I’m alone. Fortunately, when I’m in an airport, I generally don’t know a lot of people so I can dig into my phone all I want there (although I might miss out on some of those serendipitous moments I’ve had in the past where I’ve met some very interesting people and learned new things… hmmmm).

Proximity… I will turn my desk facing away from my door.

Television… I will not channel surf. If I want to watch something, I will watch that thing and that’s it (and it will rarely, if ever, be something stupid). If I need downtime, I’ll read a book or something on the web (being careful here too, of course).

Commitment: When things get tough, I’ll remind myself that I want to succeed professionally, financially, and personally (better relationships, better knowledge). And, if I do these things, I’ll likely contribute more, make more useful things happen, earn more, and enjoy more as a result. (It’s a better bet.) When I make a mistake (break focus hours, check my email, look at the web, etc.), I’ll stop, re-commit, and remind myself I want to make good things happen (rather than living in a state of busy distraction).

These are for me and my workflow. If your work really requires more attention to email or a phone then adjust accordingly. As you make these commitments, be sure to let people know so they understand you’ll be responding to them, just at a different interval than you did before. Let them know that if they need you urgently, they should call you or visit you. If they don’t like that idea, remind them that you love them (only slight kidding here) and they’re important to you but you are trying to make good things happen and that requires hard work and focus (Cross The Line, right?). Maybe they’ll be inspired and join you in your distraction diet and we’ll all win.

Got another idea you’d like to share? I’d love to hear it. If I think it’s something everyone would benefit from, I’ll send it out in another email. Just email me at Sparker@GiveMore.com.

One last thing…

“Your business is to fix his attention on the stream. Teach him to call it ‘real life’ and don’t let him ask what he means by ‘real’.”

C.S. Lewis (1942)
from The Screwtape Letters

Here’s Louis CK’s version (funny, huh?). Warning: he’s got a bit of trash mouth.

Hang in their until the end… hilarious. Speaks to the Smile side of Smile & Move (Being awake and approachable).

Connect with Sam (guy behind this stuff)…

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Copyright © 2011 by Give More Media Inc. This was written by Sam Parker. If you’d like to tell people about it somewhere (e.g., blog, newsletter, Facebook, social media), please reference Sam Parker of GiveMore.com as the author and link directly to the article. Excerpts are great but please don’t publish the article in its entirety without advanced written permission (email Sam using the address at the bottom of this page).

If you’re slightly more daring, call 804-762-4500 ext. 303.

- Carl Jung (1875–1961)
Swiss psychiatrist

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Give more commandment…

Thou shall not interrupt or talk over another person (colleague, customer, patient, student). Spouses are okay. (I’m kidding.)

Have you ever considered how ridiculous it is to do this?

Why does it happen? It could be the simple excitement over the discussion topic, poor listening training, ego (Let me show you what I know instead of learning from what you know!), or just plain rudeness.

Do you do it? Ever cut someone off mid-sentence with…

"I don’t mean to interrupt but…"
"Sorry to interrupt…"
"Oh, hey, real quick…"
"Wait…"

Here’s one way to correct it… Commit yourself to dropping a small gap of silence between what someone else says… and your response – just an extra second or so. You’ll be amazed at what else you learn and the better connections you make.

This is thoughtful listening.

Practice it with your team in your daily discussions. Practice it with your friends and family in your personal discussions. Watch how it becomes a great habit.

Use this link for some insight on the 5 keys to better listening (a free GiveMore guide).

(Get a Listen > Talk wristband here.)
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A quick (2.5 min.) video made by Chick-fil-A to remind their employees that their customers are people and they may have things going on in their lives (a good thing to remember as you work with colleagues, customers, patients, students, etc.).

A great little 15-minute video on the value of a smile, being encouraging and resilient, and the impact we have on others (even when we don’t realize it). Save this for outside your money hours (and maybe watch it with your kids over the weekend).

Connect with Sam (guy behind this stuff)…

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- Chinese proverb

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Give more truth…

You don’t know everything.

You do know that, don’t you?

Continual learning is a basic necessity to professional improvement and in many cases it’s other people who will help you get there.

But only if you’re coachable. Are you?

To be coachable means to be…

• Approachable
• Attentive
• Receptive
• Curious
• Objective
• Trusting
• Shapeable
• Confident

It means you listen with the intent to learn rather than to show what you know. (listen > talk)

Get more insight and a quick 8-point check on your coachability.

Connect with Sam (guy behind this stuff)…

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-Rumi (1207–1273)
Persian poet and philosopher

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Give more truth…

You don’t know everything.

You do know that, don’t you?

Continual learning is a basic necessity to professional improvement and in many cases it’s other people who will help you get there.

But only if you’re coachable. Are you?

To be coachable means to be…

• Approachable
• Attentive
• Receptive
• Curious
• Objective
• Trusting
• Shapeable
• Confident

It means you must listen with the intent to learn rather than to show what you know. (be no ego)

Get more insight and a quick 8-point check on your coachability.
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Have you seen Viktor Frankl’s (Holocaust survivor and author of the classic, A Man’s Search for Meaning – a GiveMore favorite) talk on inspiring others and ourselves (4.5 minutes)? The concluding thought on sparks and presupposing is great.

That’s it.

It seems to me that too many of us forget this too often… allowing ourselves to slip in and out of some state of ego-driven entitlement rather than obsessing over making good things happen for other people (so sad).

We need to get over ourselves and kick@ss for others. We do that and everything works.

The people at Netflix get it. They call it being a "stunning colleague." (more on this below)

Don’t you love that… a stunning colleague? Aren’t stunning colleagues what we all want from the people we work with (and what we all want to be for others… yes, you do or you wouldn’t be here)?

We need to get tired of mediocrity and indifference and be positively surprising to our colleagues and customers/patients/ guests/ clients (and managers). We need to encourage each other more.

How?

Stop seeking the complex answer and embrace the simple one…

Handle what it is you’ve been given to do. Contribute your piece of the equation.

"You gotta take responsibility for the place you hold here." – Oprah Winfrey

If you lead a team of people and you’ve not read my expanded thoughts on this (no gomos, no d-grunts), they’re here.

Smile & Move.

Developing a team of people? Perhaps one of my books or messages might be a helpful tool. Visit http://www.GiveMore.com to see everything (SalesTough, Smile & Move, 212° the extra degree®, Cross The Line, etc.).

On Netflix…

These guys started the business is 1997. From October 2008 to May 2011, they enjoyed a stock ride of $18.95 to over $200 a share. In April 2011, they reported first quarter sales of $718.55 million and a net income of $60.23 million. Those stunning colleagues appear to be doing a solid job.

If you’re interested, they’ve got a fantastic slide presentation about their culture that reads like a book. Very inspiring. It can be found here… http://www.netflix.com/jobs (it’s the first one). I love it.

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Copyright © 2011 by Give More Media Inc. This was written by Sam Parker. If you’d like to tell people about it somewhere (e.g., blog, newsletter, Facebook, social media), please reference Sam Parker of GiveMore.com as the author and link directly to the article. Excerpts are great but please don’t publish the article in its entirety without advanced written permission (email Sam using the address at the bottom of this page).

If you’re slightly more daring, call 804-762-4500 ext. 303.

–Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519)
Italian painter, sculptor, and inventor

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Give more brain…

How are you kicking off your workday?

Are you preparing your mind with solid thought, information, and support? Are you allowing the right radio or TV personalities to get you ready (are any of them good… share one)? The right news or material? The right people at the office?

Be careful to what you give your attention. It all has an influence on you. (And kicking it is much more fun than mediocrity… or worse.)

Feed your mind well. It’s where action starts.

(smove)

then from another…

and then from another…

What would the pictures of your work look like?

(Don’t be a Gomo. Make good things happen for other people.)

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Copyright © 2010 by Give More Media Inc. This was written by Sam Parker. If you’d like to tell people about it somewhere (e.g., blog, newsletter, Facebook, social media), please reference Sam Parker of GiveMore.com as the author and link directly to the article. Excerpts are great but please don’t publish the article in its entirety without advanced written permission (email Sam using the address at the bottom of this page).

One of the big reasons we’re here is to make good things happen for other people.

It’s simple but for some strange reason, it’s not always easy.

Over the last decade, the Gallup organization has conducted surveys to determine how into our work we are (as you likely know, it’s referred to as ‘employee engagement’). The averages over the decade…

• 29 out of 100 of us are engaged (smovers)
• 54 of 100 are not engaged (gomos)
• 17 of 100 are actively disengaged (d-grunts)

This last group actually ‘works’ to make things worse. Can you imagine how horrible it must be for someone to feel compelled to invest their limited time and energy in tearing things and people down?

Most of us (if not all of us) have been Gomos and D-grunts at times but true D-grunts and Gomos stay there (complaining, watching the clock, entitled, not making good things happen for other people).

Here’s my proposal…

As Smovers and 212ers (aware and responsible), let’s be sure we do our best to lead by example. If we slip, let’s remember we’re obligated to bounce back (Smovish principle #9).

Then, let’s all commit to encouraging someone who’s on the fence between Smoving and being a Gomo (and remind them it’s much more fun on this side). Maybe, if we each have a small success, the example will awaken and encourage even the D-grunts to reconsider their ways. How amazing would that be?

How do you save a Gomo or D-grunt? I believe it begins by loving our people which as you might guess, isn’t all hugs, kisses, and rainbows. It’s about sweeping away the eggshells (theirs and ours) and going for truth.

For those who’ve not read my essay, Love Your People, you can find it here (a 5-minute read at most). We’ve published it in a cool little booklet format with questions and thoughts that can help you get closer to loving your people more consistently (kind of a work/play book).

My presentation of Cross the Line might also be a helpful tool for encouraging someone. You can watch that here.

Gallup’s “State of the American Workplace” can be found here.

No Gomos Printable

No D-Grunts Printable

Get a No Gomos wristband here

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Copyright © 2010 by Give More Media Inc. This was written by Sam Parker. If you’d like to tell people about it somewhere (e.g., blog, newsletter, Facebook, social media), please reference Sam Parker of GiveMore.com as the author and link directly to the article. Excerpts are great but please don’t publish the article in its entirety without advanced written permission (email Sam using the address at the bottom of this page).

With everything, there’s a line.

On one side of the line is a greater chance to make good things happen (better results, better relationships, more responsibility). This is where you’ll find all those people you admire.

On the other side, there’s less of a chance.

And with each line, there’s a choice. You want to cross the line or you don’t. You want the better chance at making good things happen (meaningful things) or you settle with the lesser chance.

Your choice.

It seems simple but…

Then there’ll be those times – those times when in the short run it’ll seem like you can’t cross the line (no matter what you do). But then, those misses (those hurdles) in the short run will sometimes help you over the line in the long run (in a way you couldn’t have seen). They’ll serve as lessons, giving you more depth to your experience – making you stronger and better prepared for bigger and more important challenges you’ll face in the future.

But you won’t know that at the time.
At the time, you’ll just see that line.
And it might seem like a wall.
But it really is just a line (a line you want to cross).
And it’s yours to cross, but you have to decide (make that choice).

It seems simple but…

Then there’ll be those people – those people who’ve decided they’d rather not cross the line and would prefer you didn’t either (and unfortunately, sometimes those people might be your friends). Maybe they’ll sprinkle in a little doubt or withhold a little encouragement at just the right time (or even encourage you to do the wrong thing). Maybe they’ll be a little less subtle about it and just step directly in your way.

And then, every once in a while, there’ll be you – that inner voice that’ll try to tell you you’re not that special and that making something exceptional happen is for other people. (What are you thinking?)

Then there’ll be the work – the work that’ll be the real challenge that some people never face because of those times, those people, or that inner voice that keep us from putting in the effort and bouncing back when things get tough.

But there’s the line.
And it needs to be crossed.
And you can cross it.

It’s up to you.

(Which side will you choose?)

“The difficult is what takes a little time; the impossible is what takes a little longer.”

Fridtjof Nansen
Norwegian explorer

The essay above and how to Cross The Line (Commit, Work Hard, Focus, Bounce Back) are available in the cool little booklet here. It also includes a coaching section of questions to help you Cross The Line more effectively (and some notes pages for your thoughts).

To learn more about how to use the Cross The Line message to support your company projects, goals, or upcoming meeting, visit this page.

Personal notes on Cross the Line

Watch & listen to the Sam’s Cross the Line™ presentation (4 minutes).

Connect with Sam (guy behind this stuff)…

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Copyright © 2010 by Give More Media Inc. This was written by Sam Parker. If you’d like to tell people about it somewhere (e.g., blog, newsletter, Facebook, social media), please reference Sam Parker of GiveMore.com as the author and link directly to the article. Excerpts are great but please don’t publish the article in its entirety without advanced written permission (email Sam using the address at the bottom of this page).

Cross the Line™ is a trademark of Give More Media Inc.