DEFINITELY NOT a good walk spoiled!

RESOLVE

We will encounter all kinds of obstacles whilst progressing towards pre-determined goals. Think of a process in your business...for example, customer aquisition. What are all the possibilities? Some people you're referred to will take the call and set the appointment; some people will never take the call and will never return messages; some people will show up at the appointment; some people will not show up at the appointment; some people will show up prepared for the best experience; some people won't be prepared; some will become clients; some won't become clients, etc, etc. All of these things we know will happen. There's a name for all these things: it's called, 'Normal'. It's normal to have some of all this stuff in order to reach a point where you have a business that works for you and works for the community of your ideal customers and clients.

There's an old saying: before enlightenment, what should you do? Answer: fetch wood and carry water; after enlightenment, what should you do? Answer: fetch wood and carry water. So, don't over-celebrate your successes and by the same token don't over-bemoan your 'failures' along the path. Stay consistent.

Resolve not to be deterred by obstacles that you know will occur.

The Menu or The Meal?

Yesterday, my client said that when she came in to have her Financial Road Map® done and the discussion about the three 'hearts core' questions about her goals, she experienced so clearly why "reading the menu" is not the same thing as "eating the meal", when it comes to Values-Based Financial Planning. It is a transformational experience which aligns all your choices (not just financial) to your true north. It's no wonder I enjoy my work; it's a privilege, really.

The Philosophy of Deserve

Life is not designed to give us what we need. Life was designed to give us what we deserve. I don't mean in the justice sense, here. I mean in terms of what seems to be a natural law. We don't reap a harvest in the Autumn because we need a harvest; we reap a harvest because we deserve it. If you wish to reap, you must plant. Reaping is reserved for the planters. You can't walk into a field and say, "I need a crop". The field will say, "Who is this clown who brings me his need but brings me no seed?" Take your seed to the market place, not your need. The market place is interested in what you want to plant. Giving out starts the receiving process. Find a way to serve the many. Supply your need by concetrating serving, sharing, not concentrating on your need. Success is something you attract by the person you become, not something your pursue, go after, grasp.



With thanks to Jim Rohn for this philosophy.

You are a Role Model

However you define a successful life, if you're a leader in any capacity, it's helpful to realise that this is true. That you are a role model. As Bill Bachrach says in his book, 'High-Trust Leadership', people will do as you do, not as you say. No matter what you tell them, they’re observing your daily activities, and they’re either going to use you as an excuse for mediocrity or emulate your excellence. If you want people around you to be extraordinary, you have to be extraordinary yourself.

CLIC Sargent - children's cancer charity

Just a heads up: my brother is raising money for CLIC Sargent children's cancer charity. If you're not giving to a charity and would like an option to consider (or if you are) and would like to donate, many thanks for sponsoring him :)

Here's the link to the giving site: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserProfilePage.action?userUrl=alba42

Siesta

Opening hours today: 8.30am - 1.30pm and 5pm - 9pm.

On a fabulous sunny day like today I decided that trying a Siesta was a good idea - I wonder if these mediterranean folks have something...so I started work early and then at 1.30pm I lit a very rudementary barbeque of charcol in tin foil, balanced it precariously on a stone wall, and cooked organic free range chicken breast marinated in a lemon, olive oil, garlic, fresh marjoram, rosemary and thyme marinade (which I prepared earlier in my very heavy duty granite pestle and mortar! My favourite kitchen tool:)) I prepared a lemon juice and olive oil dressing for it and the salad and Vanessa boiled some fantastic jersey royals, lightly coated with olive oil and fresh mint. An Italian Pinot Grigio made for a near heavenly experience:)

So now off for a leisurley walk to to the post office taking in the views of the valley and Blagdon lake, and I think a quick nap before focused work time :)

More on siesta's http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siesta

How are we playing?

We had emptied my car to make room for hundreds of plants and, in doing so, accidentally removed the Jim Rohn CD's I was listening to and so my university on wheels lost its teacher. Time for reflection instead. However, as we were driving to an Open Gardens event where Vanessa was selling her fabulous plants last Sunday, I heard something profound on Radio 4 (the station it happened to be on - I rarely listen to radio in the car). People were discussing the England performance against Algeria last week.

A sports psychologist wondered if the England team were "playing as if they were afraid to lose".

I suppose if we play as if we're afraid to lose, then are we being too tentative? Too defensive? Afraid to try? Afraid to 'fail'?

For me, this is an interesting plumb line to lay against our activity - can we be more courageous? Should we? Will we?

Do what you have to do as quickly as you can so you can do what you want to do for as long as you can.

Phrase of the century!

On giving a reason why he has no mobile phone or blackberry/smartphone device, I heard him say: "I don't want to spend my day tethered to a wireless feed drip of irrelevant minutia".

Whether we all get rid of our devices or not, and I am not saying what's right or wrong here, he has a point. It seems to me to be a good idea to be disconnected sometimes - and there goes my phone!

Work with how things actually are...

When I talk to people about what they want to achieve in life, we often get on to the subject of what I will call, for want of a better phrase, 'The Entrepreneurial Fantasy'. This is something which a mentor of mine, Bill Bachrach, Chairman and CEO of Bachrach and Associates Inc., has talked about in relation to financial advisers, but it applies to all business owners.

The fantasy is that one day the world is going to work differently than how the world actually works. i.e. "if only people would return my phone calls, I'd be more successful"; "if only people would respond more positively when I call, I'd be more successful"; "if only people would schedule more appointments when I call, I'd be more successful"; "if only people never cancelled, or no-showed or rescheduled, I'd be more successful".

My message, I suppose, is simple: stop wishing the world were different and deal with the world the way it actually is instead of the way you would like for it to be.

The world is how the world is and the reality is that some people will cancel, some people will stand you up, some will reschedule and some will reschedule into eternity - you will have achieved your goals before they actually show up for the appointment or meeting or phone call that they sincerely say they genuinely want to have, but because of the way their life is, they just have to reschedule and no-show a lot of their stuff (not just you!)

Build your business with people that do show up and are able to keep their commitments. The intelligent business owner will build in a 'cushion' to allow for the way the world is.

"Don't wish it were easier, wish you were better. Don't wish for less problems, wish for more skills" - Jim Rohn.

In closing, we could sum up by agreeing not to become distracted by obstacles that you already know will occur and that the success of what you're currently doing is built upon the foundation that preceded it.

Your philosophy

When going for your goals with a legitimate vehicle to achieve them, some people may criticise you or laugh or try to pull you down. Realise that by going for your dreams, you're exposing the fact that they're not, and this is often the reason for ridicule or lack of support.

What other people think about what you're doing is none of your business. Think about it.

Napalm Flame

Inspiration

At the beginning of a new venture, sometimes it's helpful to believe in the belief others have in us before we can have this belief ourselves. One of our chief wants in life is for someone to show up and inspire us to do what we can and hold us accountable to do the things our goals require for their achievement, that, without that person, they would not get done. Who can you help to see a bigger vision for themselves than they can see right now?

Good intentions

This is a picture of Vanessa's reasonabley rare orchid which has just come into flower for the first time in seven years! It's called Napalm Flame and came from Madeira. It's a bit of a fussy plant: normally orchids are in flower all year round in our house but this is one of two that is a bit 'special' it seems, flowering infrequently and less prolifically. The relevance of this to Good Intentions? None that I can think of, but it's an amazing thing and lends colour to this blog item.

So, I read an article by Fiona Bevan on LinkedIn today about good intentions and following through on them to achieve what you want in 2010. In essence, the importance of goal setting, planning and then implementing. Afterall, results come from implementation in the real world.

I could not agree more and I'll repeat what I wrote on the discussion board: don't start your day until you have it finished; don't start your week until you have it finished; don't start your month until you have it finished. Goal Setting and Planning are 2 of the 7 high pay-off activities which I have been taught to allocate to major time.

Which leads me on to another point: do major things in major time and minor things in minor time. Avoid getting these mixed up. And remember, its on a daily basis that we succeed or not: a few simple discliplines repeated every day = success and a few, subtle and small errors in judgement repeated every day = failure.

Finally a word of caution to wrap around all this: be happy with what you have while pursuing what you want. Thanks to the late Jim Rohn for your inspiration.

You can find out more about Fiona Bevan at her Chartered Management Accountant site here: http://www.fionabevanfinancialmanagement.co.uk/ and also her Bright Dimension site here: http://www.brightdimension.co.uk/ Her LinkedIn profile is http://uk.linkedin.com/in/fionaatbrightdimension

Beans and Rice it is, then!

I won't be digging that out again -

even if I have to survive on beans and rice!

Behind every successful man...

...there is a confused woman!

That glass is actual size...

Pictures of Stourhead I meant to post earlier!

Snow

From the bedroom window today