So glad that you’re still with me, and that we’ll be creating a new reality together in 2012.  This will be a very exciting year for both of us…a year crackling with change and opportunity.  Can you feel it? Are you designing something fabulous?

I am!  And while I was crafting my new vision and plan, a quote from my friend Hilary Schneider, formally EVP of Yahoo!, crossed my mind:

“Your strategy should tell you what TO do, but it should also tell you what NOT to do.”

 Hmmm, I wondered. What should I resolve to STOP doing in order to make more time and space for the things I NEED and WANT to be doing?

So, I decided to review how I’ve been spending my time and develop a simple tool to help me analyze each activity for its usefulness in getting me where I want to go.  I also decided this was not about creating some draconian daily regime that would have me setting aside my health, fun or family.  It would have to be about balance.

So on a piece of paper, I put the following column headers at the top: ACTIVITY, AMPLIFYING, FUN, HATE, MUST DO.  The idea being that I would list all my daily and monthly typical activities, and then categorize them: is this an activity that helps brings my vision to life? If so, check AMPLIFYING.  Was it something I enjoyed doing?  Then check FUN.  (You could also substitute the word “LOVE” here.) Is it something that I absolutely hate doing?  Check HATE.  Is it something that must be done, no matter how I feel about it, or is it something I could stop doing?  If the former, a check goes under MUST DO.

Here’s are the 5 main takeaways I derived from this exercise:

1. There are some activities that I spend hours and hours on that deliver no discernible results or opportunities, or are not amplifying in any way.
2. There are some activities that I spend time on that I enjoy, but are really just for fun, and maybe I’m over investing.
3. There are some activities that I had a MUST DO label on, that I really don’t have to do.
4. There were several things I hated, and I believe you should not have to do anything you hate or are really bad at. Life is too damn short.
5. There were several amplifying activities that I need to START doing that weren’t even on the list.  And these included things that will help me achieve balance and peace while still creating amazing results.

Maybe your list will reveal the same things…?

So, here are the 7 strategies I devised to create the time, energy and mental focus to support my amplification efforts:

1. Fun must be a part of every day.  Put some in.
2. If I want peace and a peaceful mind, I need to have a peace plan.  Put some peace time in every single day.
3. Schedule specific blocks of time each week for AMPLIFYING activities.
4. If it’s a MUST DO and I HATE it…delegate it.
5. If it’s a MUST DO but still a time waster—like, cleaning out my in-box—automate as much as possible, and reduce incoming by unsubscribing.
6. If I’m unsure about whether something is a MUST DO—like, being active on so many social media networks—then pick the most valuable parts of that activity, and automate as much as possible. Or dump it all together.
7. If an item has no checks next to it at all, STOP DOING IT IMMEDIATELY. I mean, seriously: why keep it up?  It doesn’t amplify, it doesn’t stir your emotions, and it doesn’t have to be done.  Seems extraneous, yes?

What I liked about this exercise was that it included how I felt about each activity, and allowed me to apply my value system, which was more useful than just building something like an Important/Urgent quadrant list.

What do you think of this approach?  Is there something you would do to improve it?  Would love to hear your thoughts!  Please comment below.  Thanks!

It’s 2011.  You’re suffering from the symptoms of living in what used to be the world’s leading power with the world’s next-to-last amount of vacation.  You can’t imagine living through one more round of layoffs, whether you are on the giving or the possibly getting side, but you still know another round is coming.  Your retirement is a pipe dream, but you remind yourself, whenever you remember, that the important thing is to be present now.  Now is all there is, right?  You’ve just been to the doctor because you don’t like that pain under your right ribs, but even though you know your liver is located there, you’re still gonna pour the cocktails tonight because it’s the fastest way to relief.  Your kids are a pain in the heart, you can’t remember the last time you were really happy, and you’ve kind of become resigned to the fact that this is what it’s like to grow up and grow old.

Yikes.  And only 70 million or so of us going through that in the United States.  Thought you were alone?  Worldwide aging is only one of the major trends that will drive the future.  It will impact your personal health and happiness, your ability to successfully manage teams, and the outcomes you intend to create for and through your organization.

But there’s so much more.  There’s the state of the world economy. There’s the impact of being globally connected and yet personally isolated.  There’s the world ending in 2011, 2012 or 2013.  (Or 2014, 2015, 2016…just Google “world ends in” and add whatever year you want.  I personally am going with February 14^th, 2016, because that’s what Dr. Peter Venkman predicted on his short-lived talk show in the movie Ghostbusters.)

Whichever, some part of the world will be coming to an end, whether it’s the end of U.S. dominance (2025), or poverty (also 2025)…some, such as author Richard Watson (Future Files), have even predicted the end of lunch (2028).

But so much will be rising at the same time.  Possibly the seas, definitely the price of oil, complexity, a new, less attached generation of workers…and all at a far greater pace with much greater impact than we have ever experienced before.

In these times of accelerated change, there is only one thing that can make a difference: being perfectly tuned to receive and execute on new possibilities.

As an individual, it means letting go of what you think you know.  Developing a highly honed creative edge.   Taking radical responsibility for both your beingness and your outcomes.  It means becoming a Possibility Leader™.

As an organization it means all of that, plus the will to put in place the environment and systems that will catalyze this transformation and maximize it, right now.  I call it the Possibility Culture™, a mixture of science, personal development, technology and urgency that creates a hotbed for innovation, execution and results.

As the CEO of your life and business, you know that today’s actions equal tomorrow’s outcomes. The question is: are your actions of today preparing you to create extraordinary results in the very different tomorrow we are all facing?

They can.  Anything is possible.  (As long as the world doesn’t end.)

Late this morning, I was working out at the gym.  On one of the televisions played the movie “The Legend of Bagger Vance.” On another, a documentary on the Mayan calendar, and the date on which it ends (12/21/12).  The movie reminded me that there is place within me that I can go and feel my connection to all of the universe.  When I’m not connected, it’s because I’ve allowed some mental construct to get between me and that place.

The Mayan calendar documentary reminded me that I really don’t know how much time I have left on this planet, and maybe, if all of these signs actually point to some worldwide cataclysmic event, it could possibly be very, very short.

And that reminded me of a quote by actor Will Smith, who said, “I…LOVE…my life.  And that’s not something you can fake.” And it made me want to write it on my mirror.  But more, it made me want to write it, mean it, live it, ingest it, embody it.  Every day.  Every moment.  I am so incredibly blessed.  And to throw away even one second on worry, or discontent, or judgmental behavior, is extraordinarily irresponsible.  Because I’m pretty sure that if the world ends (possible), or my personal world ends (definite), none of that will be important.

It’s extraordinarily irresponsible to ME.  I am the only one creating my experience here.  And that was the message of the Bagger Vance movie.  The main character, Junuh, had to let go of past experiences that had changed the lens through which he looked at life, and remember the pure experiences of an earlier time when he knew who he really was, connected to the universe and all of its possibility.

In the movie, Junuh plays a golf exhibition match against Walter Hagen and Bobby Jones.  Hagen and Jones were real players.  Junuh was made up.  Although I’ve seen this movie before, I didn’t know this. In this watching, the names of Junuh’s opponents imprinted themselves on me in written form via closed captioning.

As I finished my run on the treadmill and went to work out on various weight machines, I chose machines that were close enough to that TV to keep an eye on the story.  The movie ended, leaving me with a feeling of deep possibility and connectedness, and I walked to the back of the gym to use a machine facing away from the televisions.  As I mounted the machine, a black and white framed photograph on the wall beckoned to me out of the corner of my eye.

Now, I knew a famous shot of Joe Frazier and Mohammed Ali boxing was the photo over the water fountain.  And a black and white of  Marilyn Monroe lifting weights was a framed and mounted photo I was quite familiar with in the gym.  But the photo that I hardly ever looked at…the one that caught my eye…was of a golfer.  And his name was Bobby Jones.

I thought to myself, “Get out!  That’s ridiculous!  On the day I’m incredibly touched and schooled by this wonderful movie, one that has a character representing Bobby Jones…I discover there’s a photo right here in my gym of Bobby Jones, after 3 years of coming here? And I SEE it?!” It actually brought tears to my eyes.

Yep. That’s how it works.  Our great partner, the Universe, is trying to get in touch with us.  If we’re paying attention, we see the signs.

I used to want a lot of things, but mostly now what I want is this: to see the signs.  To get connected.  To remember who I really am.

Because it’s awesome.  What synchronicities have occurred for you lately?

The Secret to Great Writing and Editing – From a Southerner, No Less | michael romaner.

If you were able to make it to my interview with radio host and social media storytelling expert Sandra Lee Schubert yesterday, then you’ll appreciate these tips collected by my digital media expert husband, Michael Romaner, picked up in Oxford, Mississippi, from the executive editor of Southern Living Magazine.

BTW, Southern Living is the 7th largest magazine in the country.

You would do well to use his tips for engaging and connecting with your audience.

Here’s my favorite: “Have a drink with your readers.”

Looking forward to imbibing in celebration with all of you! Cheers! –K.

P.S., audio for this interview coming soon.  Stay tuned!

Have you ever had a time in your life when you wanted to do something you really wanted to do, but weren’t really sure what you wanted to do?  Are you sick of hearing that if you follow your passion the money will follow, because you have no idea what you’re passionate about?

That’s just how I was at one point in my life.  I could not for the life of me come up with anything I was passionate about, much less the one thing I was passionate about the most.  And I realized I’d been feeling that way for a really long time.

Arriving at this conclusion is a blessing.  It’s an opportunity to say, “I know I have one life to live, and by golly, I want to really care about something while I’m here!  Just for me!”  And it’s an opportunity to launch a quest to discover what it is you care about.

This may take you some time.  Because realizing that you’re passionate about nothing most probably means you’ve become very separated from yourself.  It means you’ve been focused on external cues as to who you are versus internal cues.  It means you need to tune back in to that internal voice.

There are many ways to do this.  One is to think back on your childhood and remember what you were passionate about then.   My first attempts at this all came back the same way: “Nothing!  I’ve never been passionate about anything!”  It was very frustrating at the time.  If you experience this, then know that you were passionate about some things, and that if you allow yourself to explore and remember, eventually these things will come back to you.

For example, I was an avid reader, and I still am.  I am passionate about books, well-told stories, and learning. I have always loved science.  Not so much chemistry class, but current scientific discoveries and science fiction, where many things that are now in our world were first invented.  And I loved that, because I’m passionate about the future.  I’m constantly enthralled and intrigued with what we’re discovering about the way the universe works and how we fit into that picture.  All of those things were present in my childhood.

As an adult, I found another tool that got me closer to my passions.  A book called Now, Discover Your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham.  This book is the outcome of thousands of interviews that resulted in the definition of 34 strength themes.  The cool thing is it comes with a link to an online quiz that will allow you to personally identify your own top 5 strengths.  Mine are Strategic, Analytic, Futuristic, Restorative and Significance.  You won’t know what these mean until  you read the book, but here’s what I learned: my strengths are my passions.  If I can apply them anywhere in life or business, I can turn on my passion!  And I can create better results.  Now that’s a powerful thing to know.

Would love to hear back if you read the book and take the quiz.  What are your top 5 strengths?

P.S., we can discuss later whether you really only have one life.

From: “Rhonda M. Smith” <rmsmith@breastcancerpartner.com>

Date: October 5, 2011 7:52:49 AM EDT

To: “‘Rhonda M. Smith’” <rmsmith@breastcancerpartner.com>

Subject: please help me spread the word

Greetings,

 

As you may know, in the past year I launched a new business (Breast Cancer Partner) devoted to helping breast cancer survivors recover from treatment by taking more holistic and integrative approach. I am blessed to have found a new focus, direction and sense of purpose in my work and a way to truly make a positive impact in the lives of other women through a health and wellness focus. My mission in my work is to educate, enlighten and empower survivors, as well as other women, to become their own health and wellness advocate so that they can live a life full of energy and vitality.  The change in direction of my work was born out of my own breast cancer experience and my desire to make the necessary changes in my life to put my health and wellness first after realizing what a difference doing this made in my overall quality of life.  Hence, the basis for the Recover Restore Reenergize^Ó Philosophy.

 

In the process of getting Breast Cancer Partner off the ground, I have realized that women in general can also greatly benefit from putting their health and wellness first, becoming their own health and wellness advocate, and from adopting the Recover Restore Reenergize^ãPhilosophy.  I have also realized how much we as women give of ourselves every single day to love, take care of and nurture everything and everyone we’re responsible for in our lives, saving ourselves for last, and truthfully how exhausting that can be whether we acknowledge it or not.  So, it doesn’t matter if she’s a woman recovering from breast cancer, a woman who is enduring the challenges of everyday life, or a woman living out her passion and purpose in the world – all women need to be more mindful about how they live, work and play everyday.

In addition, I’ve observed that the three equal factors that enable a woman to “thrive” and live a life full of vitality with grace, elegance and energy IS her ability to Recover, Restore and Reenergize herself and her life on an ongoing basis. So, I wanted to create something that would serve as a reminder to women and hopefully inspire them to take some time each and everyday to love and nurture themselves in healthful, healing way – The Recover Restore Reenergize^Ó T-shirt:

 

 

So, what I am asking of you is your help in spreading the word about the Recover Restore Reenergize^Ó Philosophy to help me reach as many women as possible in order to encourage them to schedule the time to nurture and love themselves each and everyday, putting their health and wellness first so that they can Recover, Restore and Reenergize themselves on a daily basis and be a better, bolder, brighter transmitter of light, love and energy to the world! 

 

You can do so by sharing this email with your network of friends and offering your endorsement of my work and what the t-shirt represents.  Or, you can order one for you and/or a woman you love and care about.

 

I greatly appreciate your support and thank you for partnering with me to empower and inspire women to adopt the Recover RestoreReenergize^Ó Philosophy!

 

Thanks you and have a fabulous day!

 

 

Rhonda M. Smith

Founder

Breast Cancer Partner

Phone:   (888)-808-4446

Fax (786) 513-4686

Join Us on Facebook

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Join Our Mailing List

email: rmsmith@breastcancerpartner.com                        

website: www.breastcancerpartner.com

 

Some of you may not know that I had a long history in technology sales, as a retail rep, retail sales manager, outside sales manager, technical sales manager, regional sales director and national sales director for various companies. I also managed sales teams as parts of other jobs.

So, when I received a request from a reader asking how to specifically apply measurement to increase sales, I thought my response to him might be useful to you.  Here it is:

Was interviewed on Brainstormin’ with Billy the Brain a few weeks ago, and  he kept asking me the same question: how can people see more of the possibilities available to them in these difficult times?  Having had surgery a couple weeks prior, my fogged brain did not come up with the EXACT method for doing this, which is, of course, in my first book.

And that is: get into wave mode!  Ask yourself the most unlimited questions you can.  Let go of what you think you know.  Really.  Discard it.  You are making up your world in every moment.  Your world can be as the newscasters and the economists and the political parties say it is, or it can be the way you say it is.  Check out the Articles section of the Resources page on my website where you’ll find an article that will give you 6 tips to kickstart revenue growth.  Or generate more income.

And then go Amp it Up!  Cheers!

Nick Smith of Clear Path Training and I are traveling paths so close together, they are almost one. in fact, you might call it The Clear Path. When I read his book, The Art of Accomplishment: 35 Surprisingly Simple Ways To Start Reaching All Of Your Goals, and compared the thought leadership in it to that in my own book, The Science of Making Things Happen: Turn Any Possibility into Reality, I got chills. We speak the same language, but in different voices that illuminate each other in a complementary way. It occurred to me that putting these two primers together would be powerful stuff, and so I asked Nick if I could interview him for my blog. He graciously agreed, and not only that: he’s now a faculty member of the Possibility Institute! Exciting stuff, but let me get you connected to Nick right now. Here’s our conversation.

Nick, your approach to coaching, like mine, is a science-based approach. Tell us about it and why it works.

Kim, I followed the approach that I did because like so many others, I bought into the ideas of “The Secret” and used to think, “If I just think hard enough or hold the right mindset, riches will start flowing in.” While that is partly true, I was leaving out some very important steps; one of the most important steps being action. I learned that in order for me to get what I want out of life, I needed to change not only my thinking, but the incorrect behaviors I established through years of experience. I studied with some powerful coaches and read every book I could get my hands on about the subject. I noticed common themes emerging. Every person I interviewed, read or coached with EARNED their success. Many of them were terrible at their profession when they began, but each stuck with the principles I share long enough to create their world the way they wanted. The reason my approach is scientific versus metaphysical, is because it is testable. I know that results don’t lie. My actions either create the results I want or they don’t. If I do not have what I want in my life, I can deduce that adjustments need to be made. If I make those adjustments, I can eventually create the outcome I desire. The problem I see is most people quit before they ever make the adjustments. They see the failed result, and quit. My book teaches them how to push through that.

How did you come to discover the 35 key strategies in your book, The Art of Accomplishment?

In the last question, I touched on where these principles came from. However, many of them came about through experiences I had. For example, the certainty cycle was created after having a conversation with a company I worked with. The owner asked me a question and I answered her based on the knowledge I had at the time. After disagreeing with each other, I decided to dig deeper. I learned about probabilities and certainty. One of my favorite books on the subject is “The Black Swan” by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. That book opened my eyes and helped me to see that particular situation in a new light.  I learned these 35 strategies by questioning the way I did things as well as the way other people did things. I wanted to know why we do what we do, and in that process I found an effective path for transitioning into successful accomplishment.

Where do you find most people get stuck as they deal with events happening in their lives, and how does your program help them get past that?

I find most people get stuck in the thought of dealing with events. Their thoughts keep them inactive. Through my program, we may strategize on or think through how to approach the event, but the greatest change comes not by thinking about things, but by doing about things. My program gets people out of the thought process and into the doing process. Action is what creates the results.

How does someone hold on to clarity about their path? How can they deal with doubt?

I find the best way to keep clarity is to keep sharing the path. If someone continues to share where they are going, they are more likely to get there. As far as doubt goes, I feel doubt quite frequently in my life. How do I deal with it? I allow it to occur, notice it is occurring, and take action to prove it wrong. When I don’t feel strong enough to break through on my own, I call my coach or a trusted friend and get them to help me get into action. I am certain I will experience doubt many more times throughout my life and I am unwilling to fight against it. Instead, my goal is to become neutral to doubt, to treat as if it were any other emotion. I think doubt just shows me how I feel when I approach uncertainty. The only way through it is to act in such a way that I find out if that doubt is true or just another story. As I test things, the doubt goes away. The only way I have found to effectively test things is through action.

Can you share one technique that most everyone can benefit from?

Yes, stop promising to change! A promise to change is useless if you have a history of being a word-breaker. Nobody needs your promises if all you are going to do is break them. Instead, change to promise! Change your life so that when you make a promise, you know you will keep it. Start being the person you would have to be to keep your promises. Remember, don’t promise to change; change to promise.

If there was one thing you’d want my readers to know about themselves, what would it be?

If I were to tell you one thing about yourself, it would be “Stop the Insanity!” Stop doing the same things while expecting different results. I know that is an overused idiom by Einstein, but it applies. Many of you are reading the right things, going to the right seminars, making the right goals, and many other things, but you are still doing the same things you have always done, hoping that life will be different. I know this because you and I are a lot alike. If I could say one thing that would help you it would be, Get Help! There is no reason for you to do it alone. More often than not, when one is left to do things alone, he or she goes back to what he or she knows. Join a group, hire a coach, DO something that will get you into action and out of the perpetual cycle of learning without action.

Lastly, how can my readers find out more about your book and how to get in touch with you?

Your readers can learn more about my book and my work by visiting my website at www.clearpathtraining.com. The best way for someone to experience what I do is for them to have a one on one conversation with me. For your readers, I am willing to waive my fee for one session so they can experience what it is like to be coached. They simply need to email me at nick@clearpathtraining.com with the subject line “Will you coach me?” Kim, I love what I do and am delighted to be a part of the Possibility Institute faculty!