Sticky Note Your Way to Success, Part 1
Monday, January 22, 2007 - posted by hellomynameisscott at 3:24 AM
There’s no such thing as a motivational speaker.Not even Tony Robbins, Zig Ziglar, Jim Rohn, Norman Vincent Peale or Napoleon Hill were motivational speakers.
Sure, those were five highly motivated dudes. And sure, those guys definitely spoke about the topic of motivation.
BUT REMEMBER THIS: the only person in the world who can motivate you is YOU.
As an author, speaker an entrepreneur myself, I’ve become skilled at self-motivation.
See, I work alone. No boss. No coworkers. No clock-in box.
Just me.
And in my experience, self-motivation works best under three conditions:
1. When it’s visual
2. When it’s daily
3. When it punches you in the face
I’ve found self-questioning to be an extremely effective technique. First of all, it makes you think critically and creatively. Secondly, it keeps you personally accountable. Lastly, questioning is THE most valuable tool in your communication arsenal to gain knowledge and clarity.
NOTE: before I share my list of questions, I need you to stop reading this blog for a minute.
Would you do something for me? Please go grab a stack of sticky notes and a thick marker. When you read through the list, write each question on a sticky note and post it on your desk, computer, phone or bulletin board. This is key. It’s the best way to make these questions work to your advantage. You need to be able to see these self-motivators all day.
OK. Go get your supplies…NOW! (Don’t worry; I’ll wait. It’s not like I’m gonna go anywhere. Besides, I don’t even have a boss, remember?)
Cool. Welcome back! Let’s get crankin’ with those questions:
1. Is what I’m doing today going to bring this customer back tomorrow? There’s no business like repeat business. And even when you say no, you’re still marketing. So be sure your words and actions are unforgettable. In the process, you will turn your customers into “fans.” Cultivate and cherish these people who loyally love your stuff. Enable them to tell everyone about you, and they WILL come back tomorrow.
2. If everyone did exactly what I said, what would their world look like? This is my all-time favorite. Especially for managers and leaders, this question helps you clarify your philosophy, mission and orders. The key is, once you figure out the answer to this question, then ask yourself the following: “Is what I’m doing or saying giving my people the tools they need to build that world?”
3. Is what I’m doing right now leading to a sale? Poor time management and lack of focus are dangerous adversaries to all business people. Asking yourself this question keeps the idea of sales at the top of your mind. I first posted this sticky note on my laptop about three years ago. Sales have doubled every year since.
4. Is what I’m doing right now consistent with my #1 goal? This question forces you think critically about your primary objective. Sadly, to few businesspeople actually know what theirs is! In fact, I bet if you asked ten random people what their #1 goal for 2007 was, only about half of them would have a definitive answer for you. So, what’s yours? Doubling annual revenue? Achieving membership into the 100% club? Securing five new accounts a week? Whatever your #1 goal is; use this sticky note as an accountability measure. If the answer is yes, keep doing what you’re doing. If the answer is no, stop playing online poker and do something productive.
(5 more questions coming next week...)
LET ME ASK YA THIS...
How do you self-motivate?
LET ME SUGGEST THIS...
Post your 3 best sticky-note success statements here!
* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
Author/Speaker/That Guy with the Nametag
www.hellomynameisscott.com
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Labels: kicking your own ass, melon motivating, small biz success
I have a Vision Board in my bathroom that I use to remind me of what I am working toward and why. I have a pic on my blog
It is fabulous!!
I also have a vision board in my bathroom Angie. I also keep quotes that motivate me hanging up on my desk.
Two techniques have been helping me this year: First, yes indeed, keeping my goals and HABITS WHICH ARE WORKING posted on my bathroom mirror and, second, writing my top two affirmations multiple times every day. I am pretty much freaking out at how well this second one is working.
I think: what will make me happy? And then do that. Quite simple.
Every year I write down my writing/business goals. I break them down into specific (and achievable) weekly & monthly to-do's. I keep a print-out of these specific goals beside my computer monitor. They can't be ignored and are always there facing me. If I'm not close to meeting a specific goal, it's ME who has to get busy and 'catch up' to my self imposed 'deadline'. It keeps me very productive and on target!
www.dianeschuller.com
I find that when I am the least motivated (i.e. "Slug mode") I can get myself going again with one of two activities....
First, a nap. If I am physically or mentally tired, a short (<30 min.) nap allows me to recharge my batteries and get back on track. I find that this is a much better alternative to "watching TV to relax". Granted, your brain is turned off, but I don't end up refreshed after 30 minutes of TV like I do after a nap. I've also heard that some people find a meditation break accomplishes the same thing.
My second motivating activity is "planning". For some reason, whenever I am frustrated by a lack of progress or overwhelmed by too much to do, I find it invigorating to take my long term goals and start plugging in ideas to overcome possible obstacles or improve my chances for success. I find that this creative activity really gets my "juices flowing" and I am then much more highly motivated to get back to work! (Not to mention the fact that I am also armed with lots of great ideas!)
I would be interested to hear if anyone else feels this way.
Maybe some of these might show up in Scott's next set of tips ... I can hardly wait!
Dave
I just added two post-its to my computer monitor. One has my 4 major goals for the year listed. The other says "Is what I'm doing right now going to help me with my 2007 goals?"
I have a white board - it's a great visual reminder but I find it doesn't get used enough; sticky notes are better, but not the best for me.
What works for me is to FOCUS on the TARGET. If I want to write three articles this week or publish a newsletter: am I FOCUSED ON IT? If I want another guest for my podcast am I MAKING PHONE CALLS or E-MAILING people?
It all boils down to action. If I'm not taking action that's moving me closer to my goals I doubt I'll get there.
When I find that I'm getting 'busy' but not taking signification action I have to stop and re-assess my actions.
One good question to ask is at that point is: What is one small but important action I can take RIGHT NOW? Once I take that small action it gives me a little more power to move to the next step.
For me, regaining momentum involves nature. Getting out in some way, shape or form to a park or lake helps me come back to myself instead of allowing all of the other things I could be doing fly through my mind way too often.
Winter can make that a tad difficult since I am far from a winter loving kinda guy. So I make sure the calendars I buy have nature scenes so I can meditate for a few minutes on the images. It helps.
Ooops, 1 more thing I do is miniature golf. I don't know if it's because of it being related to the whole nature thing or not. But putting around 18 holes lets me slow down a bit, changes my thinking patterns in a way trying to figure out the best way to play a given hole.
Scott has said he goes to the veggie aisle in stores (there is more nature), I try to get out and knock a little colorful ball around a bit. (plus winning the free game at the end from time to time helps things as well.
I don't get the bathroom thing - sorry, this is a serious question, I'm not poking fun. Why vision boards in the bathroom?
The reason the bathroom works well for posting visual motivators is because you're IN the bathroom at least twice a day (providing that you practice decent hygiene.)
More exposures = more motivation
Plus it really weirds out your houseguests when they pee.
We have our boards in the bathroom because I thought if I put them in my office, that wouldn't fair to my husband. Plus our bathroom is indeed a place where we're guaranteed to see them twice a day at the VERY least. For me, since I'm home all day many days, I see them waaaay more than two times. (TMI, I know)
~Monica
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