Day #62: Avoid the “I’d be happy if only I could get more of…” Trap

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5 year plan, change, executive coaching, free coaching session, getting what you want out of life, Goal setting, Mary Lee Gannon, Pittsburgh, starting over

365 Ways to Get ResultS: Day #62 – If only I could get more of…(+ FREE Coaching Offer)

You want something in your life that you don’t have. What a surprise. And you think you know what it is. More time? More love? A better job? A better boss? A thinner body? A fatter wallet? Not only do you know what it is, you are certain that if you catch it like Willie Mays hauled in Vic Wertz’s drive at the warning track in 1954 your World Series ring will assure you a field of dreams come true. If only you could “get” what you want you would be happy. Right? Has it worked yet?

Instead of simply focusing on what you think you want, go one step further and ask yourself “what does (more love…money…thin?) – mean? In this line of reasoning lies a values based answer instead of a superficial proposition that is insatiable. When you ask yourself,” What will this change in my life – what does it mean?” you are focusing on values. Values, not “Get Lists” bring fulfillment.

What will having more time change your life? A greater ability to focus on the things that really matter to you? What are those things? Family? Travel? A loved one? A new business? A better balanced life? Playing an instrument? Art? These are values. Time is not a value.

What will more love mean? Is it that love from another makes you feel better about yourself? Who defines how you feel about yourself? Or does feeling more love come from giving more love? What do you really want to work on?

What will it mean to get a better job? Better challenge? Better ability to learn? Better ability to try new things? Work that is purposeful? What is purposeful to you? These are values.

What will being thinner mean? More attention? What does more attention mean? Feeling better about yourself? What would make you feel better about yourself? Better health? Better diet? Being able to be more active? Values.

What will having more money mean? Security? What does security mean to you? Not having to worry that you won’t have enough money to take care of yourself or your family? Is the value family? What does the family value? What is enough?

If what makes you happy includes “Get” items you will always be working from a “Get List.” Toss the “Get List” over the center field wall and replace it with values activities whereby your emotions will breathe a sigh of relief while giving you a standing ovation. Batter up!

FREE Coachng Session Offer:

You never thought it would happen but here you are – not sure of what to do next and the parylization has cost you time, money, love, personal satisfaction and freedom. You are afraid. You are rejected. You are hurting. You feel helpless, disappointed and inept. You are ready to move forward in your personal life or business but doubt and indecision keep calling you back. Now is the time to decide that your happiness has been on the back burner long enough.

If you are not 100% satisfied by the life you are leading or the success of your business or the richness of your relationships…then you OWE IT to yourself to email Mary Lee now for a FREE 30 minute coaching session on how to change course at marylee@startingovernow.com or by going to www.startingovernow.com/Contact_Us.html. Just mention “Free coaching session” in the subject line.

Mary Lee Gannon is the president of StartingOverNow.com – Leading Productivity Solutions for People and Organizations. With more than 16 years of experience as a CEO of organizations with up to $26 million in assets, Mary Lee consults with businesses on strategy. She is a graduate of The Duquesne University Professional Coaching Program and an alumnus of the 2010 Harvard Medical School and McLean Hospital Coaching in Medicine & Leadership Conference. Her personal urnaround came as a stay-at-home mother with four children under seven-years-old who endured a divorce that took she and the children from the country club life to public assistance from where she earned success to support her family. Services include: Workshops, Meeting Facilitation, Coaching, Webinars, Speaking and Management Consulting. Areas of Specialty: Strategic Planning / Board Development / Healthcare / Public Relations / Goal Setting / Meeting Facilitation / Training / Leadership / Time Management / Life/Career Transition. Her book “Starting Over – 25 Rules for When You’ve Bottomed Out” is available in bookstores or at Amazon. Get her FREE ebook – “Grow Productivity – A Leader’s Toolbox” on her web site at www.StartingOverNow.com.

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Day #48: The “Goals-to-Results-Now Worksheet”

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5 year plan, business coaching, executive coaching, Goals to results worksheet, making a 5 year plan, Mary Lee Gannon, measuring results, Pittsburgh, setting goals that get results, starting over, Starting Over - 25 Rules When You've Bottomed Out

365 Ways to Get Results: Day #48: The “Goals-to-Results-Now Worksheet”

How you are doing on your New Year’s Eve resolutions? Terrible? Most people find resolutions hard to keep. Why? Because they have no foundation to support your desired change in habit.

This year I gave my clients a “Goals-to-Results-Now Worksheet” and I am sharing it with you here free. This tool will give you a vision, a plan of action and results. At the end of this newsletter I will share with you the difference it has made in my life in just a few weeks. You may cut and paste this tool into a Word document to get started today or click on the link at the end of this blog for a free PDF version of the worksheet that allows you to pencil your plan into each section.

The Goals-to-Results-Now Worksheet

Answer these life-defining questions to create your plan with steps you can execute today.

1. What are 10 things I want to be?

2. What are 10 Things I want to do?

3. What are 10 things I want to have?

4. What are 10 Five-Year Goals that will help me accomplish questions #1 to #3? Make them SMART – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Results Oriented and Time Framed. Make them vibrant and heartfelt!

5. Now back into your goals by listing 10 One-Year Goals you have accomplished at the end of one year that got you on your way to your Five-Year Goals. Be sure to list these in the past tense such as “I have __________”

6. List five 30-Day Challenges you will start to get you closer to your one-year accomplishments? Ie: I will organize one part of my home for at least 30 minutes every day for 30 days.” or “I will do one thing every day to create buzz around my business such as creating a contest, posting on a forum, joining a Linked In group etc.”

Here are just a few ways this worksheet has made a difference in my life since I completed my 2012 version three weeks ago.

1. Under #1, I have written 40 pages of a new book for a Goals-to-Results Workshop I will offer this spring on “Creating a Vision and a Plan for Your Life or Business.”

2. Under #1, I wanted to tie up loose ends regarding fitness and health. I made an appointment with an eye surgeon to address a lazy eye issue that had been dogging me for a year to find that I don’t yet need surgery – just new glasses with prism.

3. Under #2, I wanted to volunteer somewhere purposeful and made a few calls. Last week the Small Business Administration called me to be a volunteer for their volunteer agency – SCORE with the first meeting in February.

4. Under #5, I have changed the focus of my website to be more Goals-to-Results oriented as opposed to starting over oriented as my coaching practice is more focused on small business and leadership.

5. Under #6, I have engaged Constant Contact as a tool to create this newsletter and build my email list.

6. Under #9, I am working on my 30-Day Challenge of organizing and purging a particular section of my home just about every day. Since I began I have cleaned out closets, the disarray under my bed, my garage, the laundry room and more. I’ve kept it up for 11 days.

These are just a few examples of the many things I have accomplished in just a few weeks using this Goals-to-Results Worksheet. It’s hard to get going when you aren’t sure where you want to be. Use this tool to open the vision for purposeful work, personal life and fulfillment with a Goals-to-Results strategy. Start now!

Click for the link to the PDF version of The Goals-to-Results-Now Worksheet.

Email this link to a friend.

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Get Mary Lee’s tips on Four Goal Setting Strategies that Rock on her Articles and Tip Sheets page.

Mary Lee Gannon is the president of StartingOverNow.com – Leading Productivity Solutions for People and Organizations. Mary Lee is a graduate of The Duquesne University Professional Coaching Program and an alumnus of the 2010 Harvard Medical School and McLean Hospital Coaching in Medicine & Leadership Conference. Her personal turnaround came as a stay-at-home mother, with four children under seven-years-old, who endured a divorce that took she and the children from the country club life to public assistance from where within a short time she worked to the level of CEO. Services include: Workshops, Meeting Facilitation, Coaching, Webinars, Speaking and Management Consulting. Areas of Specialty: Strategic Planning / Board Development / Healthcare / Public Relations / Goal Setting / Meeting Facilitation / Acountability / Leadership / Time Management / Life/Career Transition. Her book “Starting Over – 25 Rules for When You’ve Bottomed Out” is available in bookstores or at Amazon. Get her FREE ebook – “Grow Productivity – A Leader’s Toolbox” on her web site at www.StartingOverNow.com.

Day #12 – Plan “A” Versus Plan “B”

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365 Ways to Start Over, 5 year plan, Day #12 - Plan A Versus Plan B, Gannon Group, Goal setting, How to be a success, how to be happy, Mary Lee Gannon, Planning, starting over, starting over now, Success, successful planning

365 Ways to Start Over: Day #12 – Plan A Versus Plan B

If you work on your weaknesses and back-up plan, then you will become a little better at being underperforming. If you use your strengths to focus on your big goal, then you will be sensational.

There is no reason to have a plan “B” because it detracts from plan “A.”

Get Mary Lee’s article on defining your Strengths.

Mary Lee Gannon is the president of Gannon Group – a full service executive coaching, training and consulting firm that provides productivity strategies for people and organizations by improving team performance, executive leadership skills, board performance, planning and project execution. Mary Lee’s personal turnaround came as a stay-at-home mother, with four children under seven-years-old, who endured a divorce that took she and the children from the country club life to public assistance from where within a short time she worked up to the level of CEO. Her book “Starting Over – 25 Rules for When You’ve Bottomed Out” is available in bookstores or at Amazon. Get her FREE ebook – “Grow Productivity – A Leader’s Toolbox” on her web site at www.StartingOverNow.com.

Don’t Blow Your Cool – Make Better Decisions in Real Time

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5 year plan, building compassion, character leadership, don’t blow you cool, eliminating oppositions, executive coaching, executive coaching for difficult situations, executive coaching for teaching compassion, Goal setting, how to get what you want, how to make better decisions in real time, lead by example, Mary Lee Gannon, Overcoming Adversity, overcoming challenges, starting over, Starting Over No, strategic planning

Leaders transform vision into reality by rallying their team around more than just a well articulated idea – by truly engaging them in the strategy to get there. Execution of the strategy is where most leaders and businesses fail because the variables that affect strategy are not static but dynamic – constantly fluctuating: barriers to entry, competition, personalities, scarcity of resources and more.

Many things are outside of a leader’s control. Markets and the economy oscillate. Lending access varies. Customer perception and loyalty are influenced by social media. Staff members come and go as the average employee only stays with a company roughly 4 years these days.

If you as the leader cannot adjust your vision and your strategy in a dynamic synergy with the flux of your team, stakeholders, the market, and a global economy you are not poised to realize your goals. Someone else will beat you on this measure. You can’t be stuck. You can’t explode in front of people. You have to easily adjust to challenges in real time.

My clients who are effective leaders are bound by a moral code of ethics whereby they apply character, strengths, skill, and values to advance their mission by engaging their team. They are able to change their behavior and sustain the change to affect outcomes because they have prepared ahead of time to know how to execute under fire.

You wouldn’t wait until a ski lift takes you to the highest mountain in the resort to learn to ski. You need to know, already, who you are and what you believe: not what your colleagues believe or the company believes or your friends believe, but what you believe.

Leaders identify their strengths and build a barracks of skills so that they may respond effectively at a meeting, to a client, or to a dissatisfied customer with the finesse of a consummate and valued professional. If you need specific skills you don’t have, get them. Think through character issues – morality, honor, ethics – ahead of time so that you have the strength to address challenges head on with a steadfastness of nature that reinforces a productive and fulfilled culture of employees.

How to Make Better Decisions in Real Time

1. Make a list of needed skills. Write down all of the skills that you need to elevate you to the level you want to be. Not just to fulfill your current role.

2. Write down one thing you can do to build each skill. If you need better knowledge in a particular industry, ask colleagues to recommend a course or mentor for you. If you need a better image, spend time analyzing colleagues in similar roles or industries or talk with an image consultant.

3. Make a list of five of your biggest strengths. People who have not matched their character and professional strengths with their life’s work continue to feel unsettled and under-fulfilled. They may make erratic decisions or operate inconsistently with an impersonal persona. This article can help you define your strengths. http://www.startingovernow.com/Articles/Strengths-Free_Tools_to_Help_You_Define_Your_Strengths.html

4. Keep your list of strengths in your desk as a reference. When you are faced with a difficult decision, approach the issue from the perspective of each of your strengths. If you can’t decide whether or not to invest in a marketing plan, address it from your already defined strength of “resourcefulness,” and your strengths of “compassion” and “practicality.” Most importantly, which of your strengths will help you in a difficult situation so as to not lose your “cool?”

5. In an eruptive real time situation, draw on your strength. Whenever you feel threatened or that you may react in a way that is not in alignment with your values, remove yourself from the situation so that you may draw on your best strength to deal with it. Tell the person or team that you will get back to them with an answer once you have had time to process it. If you are not able to leave the room, draw on the strength that you have already defined that best equips you to deal under fire.

Lead by example. You establish your corporate culture and empower your team by having the confidence to know who you are, what you believe in and what it is you need to learn. Others will want to learn if they see that it is OK to not have all the answers all of the time. What is it that you need to learn? Start now!

Sign up for Mary Lee’s free Executive Coaching e-newsletter at info@startingovernow.com.

Get Mary Lee’s free tip sheets on “Strengths – Free Tools to Help You Define Your Strengths” and “How to Turn Thought Into Habit for Your Team” at http://www.startingovernow.com/Articles-and-Tip-Sheets.html.
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Mary Lee Gannon is the president of Gannon Group – a full service executive coaching, training and consulting firm that provides turnaround strategies for people and organizations by improving team performance, executive leadership skills, board performance, planning and project execution. Mary Lee’s personal turnaround came as a stay-at-home mother, with four children under seven-years-old, who endured a divorce that took she and the children from the country club life to public assistance from where within a short time she worked out of that to the level of CEO. Her book “Starting Over – 25 Rules for When You’ve Bottomed Out” is available in bookstores, on Amazon or on her web site. Email Mary Lee at marylee@startingovernow.com or visit her web site at www.StartingOverNow.com.