W.I.N. Wednesday: Lessons From Life's Most Powerful Question - Who are your heroes?

"A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure inspite of overwhelming obstacles." 

Christopher Reeves

I use the above quote in the presentation The Heroes Path to Excellence in Law Enforcement, which I deliver to law enforcement officers throughout North America. It is important for officers to understand that heroes are ordinarily men and women, like them, who find something inside of them that allows them to persevere and endure when others might quit. Many of the heroes I talk about in that presentation are law enforcement and military personnel. Most of the heroes in our lives however, are ordinary men and women who do not serve in the military and are not in law enforcement.

What about you? Who are your heroes? Interestingly enough when Ron Scheidt and I put together the books am I that man? How heroes, role models and mentors can shape your life, we asked the contributors (all men) to write about heroes, role models and mentors in their lives. The heroes most wrote about were their fathers. They talked about how their fathers had demonstrated unconditional love for their families, moral courage and a powerful work ethic during their lives. 

When Disney TV interviewed children and asked them about their heroes most of the kids talked about their parents, not fictitious superheroes as we might suspect. May and June are months where we celebrate these heroes with Mothers Day and Fathers Day. 

June is a time when you honour those men in your life who were, and still are heroes to you: your father, grandfather, step father, father in law, surrogate father and other men in your life who exemplify what it means to be a father, a hero. 

In honour of Fathers Day Ron and I have decided to offer special pricing on the am I that man? book and Challenge Coin sets and on the 10 book Mentorship package and case lots. You can take advantage of these specials at www.amithatman.com. 

What's Important Now? - Take time this month to celebrate the men who serve as heroes in your life. 

Take care.

Brian Willis

Committed to the pursuit of excellence through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

Contact me at winningmind@mac.com if you would like to have me speak to your team,  your organization or at your conference. 

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W.I.N. Wednesday: Lessons From Life's Most Powerful Question - Are you a carrier?

"A healthy attitude is contagious but don't wait to catch it from others. Be a carrier." 

Tom Stoppard

Too many people seem to feel their attitude, their happiness, their success, their career advancement, basically their life, is someone else's responsibility. They blame their attitude on their circumstances, their co-workers, their boss, their job or their surroundings. 

Your attitude is a choice. It is within your control. You get to choose whether you are a carrier of a healthy attitude, or one of negativity. 

What's Important Now? - Choose well. Choose to be a carrier of a healthy contagious attitude. 

Take care.

Brian Willis

Committed to the pursuit of excellence through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

Contact me at winningmind@mac.com if you would like to have me speak to your team,  your organization or at your conference. 

www.winningmindtraining.com

www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com

www.amithatman.com

W.I.N. Wednesday: Lessons From Life's Most Powerful Question - Timing is everything.

I recently had dinner with two people who understand and personify the W.I.N. concept. During dinner we had a discussion about applying W.I.N., especially to situations at home. As we talked I had an important revelation. It is not just about asking ourself What's Important Now?, it is also about the timing of when we ask ourselves that question.

How often have you been asked to take on an extra project at work or with that community group, work an extra shift or deliver a presentation that required you to travel out of town and be away from your family? How many times has your immediate default answer been yes? Once you had time to sit back and reflect, you realized that by saying yes to work, you were going to be saying no to something with your family. Then the internal struggle begins. 

One voice in your head is saying, "It is an important project/presentation/cause and I am helping by saying yes." The voice in your gut however is saying, "I am going to miss the soccer game/dinner with the family again/helping my spouse with that project I promised I would help with, etc." The turmoil is compounded by the fact you would now like to back out of the work commitment but, 'you gave your word and you cannot go back on that.' You then beat yourself up for realizing too late What's Important Now?

The time then to ask Life's Most Powerful Question is before you make the commitment. 

What's Important Now? - Change your default answer from 'yes' to 'let me get back to you'. Get as much information as you can, look at the impact of the choice, ask yourself What's Important Now? and then make your decision. Sometimes this will only take a few minutes, sometimes it will take considerably longer. Sometimes you will say yes, and other times you will say no. The time spent will be well worth it however, as you will be at peace with the decisions you make. 

Take care.

Brian Willis

Committed to the pursuit of excellence through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

Contact me at winningmind@mac.com if you would like to have me speak to your team,  your organization or at your conference. 

www.winningmindtraining.com

www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com

www.amithatman.com

W.I.N. Wednesday: Lessons From Life's Most Powerful Question -You don't have to be the best.

"Use what talents you possess: the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best."

 Henry van Dyke

You don't have to be the best; you just have to do your best. 

Trying to be 'the best' means you are constantly comparing yourself to others. Being the best is always subjective. There is very rarely agreement on the best movie, the best speaker, the best actor, the best team, the best athlete, the best …. well you get the point. 

During my Pursuit of Personal Excellence I always talk about the fact that excellence is a moving target. It is about making a commitment to always be better tomorrow than you are today. And, it is about being the best that you can be, not about being as good as or better than someone else. 

What's Important Now? - Embrace excellence by striving to always be and do your best. 

Take care.

Brian Willis

Committed to the pursuit of excellence through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

Contact me at winningmind@mac.com if you would like to have me speak to your team,  your organization or at your conference. 

www.winningmindtraining.com

www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com

www.amithatman.com

W.I.N. Wednesday: Lessons From Life's Most Powerful Question - Ah, the stories we tell ourselves.

We all tell ourselves stories. Some are actually true. Many however, just make us feel better about the decisions we are making.

You tell yourself, "My family is my number one priority, the most important thing in my life." Yet, you spend 60 to 80 hours a week at work and when you are at home you are engrossed in your work and not paying attention to your family. This makes you uncomfortable so you tell yourself the story that you are doing it for your family so your kids can have the things that you did not and have a better life. Yet, what your kids really want is to spend some quality time with you, not more stuff. You tell yourself that you are seeking that promotion at work so you can better provide for your family. You tell yourself that as soon as you get that promotion you will spend more time at home knowing that the job will in fact require you to spend more time at work. You tell yourself that your family understands that you are on the road and away from home all the time because you are doing important work and 'saving / changing the world'. Yet, they sit at home and wonder why 'the world' is more important to you than they are. In an interview with Darren Hardy for Success Magazine Rabbi Shmuley made a profound statement when he said, "You are no hero if the people who mean the most to you, think the least of you." He related how he was on a mission to save the world, and finally realized it was at the expense of his family. He had to change the stories he was telling himself to justify his schedule. If his family was in fact the priority, he had to prove it through the way he lived his life. 

You tell yourself that your health is a top priority for you, next only to your family. Yet, you are sleep deprived, have not made exercise a priority in your life and you eat crap. You then tell yourself you are too busy right now to work out and do not have time to make a healthy lunch or take time out of our busy day to work out. You tell yourself that as soon as this project is done you will get on track, the same story you have been telling yourself every project. You tell yourself you are too busy yet, people who are significantly more productive than you are eat healthy, make time to exercise every day, get adequate sleep and do in fact make their family a priority. 

You tell yourself that the people in your unit / team / organization are important to you. You tell yourself you are committed to developing them into better leaders and people. You tell yourself that your job is to be a positive role model and a mentor. You tell yourself you are committed to taking the team / unit / organization to the 'next level'. Yet, you are always away working on some 'special project' or 'special assignment', demonstrating to the people in your team / unit / organization that your story is inconsistent with reality. 

We all tell ourselves stories. Some of them are true, some however are fictional stories and some are flat out lies. 

What's Important Now? - Truly examine the stories you tell yourself. Be brutally honest with yourself about which ones are true and which are 'cover stories' to allow you to justify behaviours you know are wrong. If you felt uncomfortable reading this, then I am talking to you. I felt uncomfortable writing it and as a result have begun working on changing my behaviours and my stories. 

Take care.

Brian Willis

Committed to the pursuit of excellence through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

Contact me at winningmind@mac.com if you would like to have me speak to your team,  your organization or at your conference. 

www.winningmindtraining.com

www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com

www.amithatman.com

W.I.N. Wednesday: Lessons From Life's Most Powerful Question - The Fourth C

Last Wednesday I wrote about the 3 C's - Connection - Commitment - Contribution. I received an e-mail response from Vince O'Neil in Oklahoma. Vince is a fellow law enforcement trainer who I have great respect and admiration for. I would like to share his response with you as i believe it has great value.

Brian,

I really enjoyed your article. In the spirit of colleagues sharing, there's a fourth "C" . . . Consciousness. Actually, it's the first "C." Without it none of the Three C's exist. Consciousness is all about awareness, recognition and meaningfulness. The need to connect, commit and contribute to our profession is at the very heart of our vocation; it forms the totality of its foundation. That said, when we lose that sacred consciousness, that's when we become disconnected, complacent, and burdensome. That would be about the time W.I.N. becomes meaningless, and physical death -- mere formality.  

These are not original thoughts by any means. I usually distill processes through Bloom's Taxonomy: having learned it in Educational Psychology, c. 1970, it's become a habit. 'Hope you don't mind me making a contribution. 

Vince O'Neil

Vince makes a convincing argument that Consciousness is actually the first C. It is where connection, commitment and contribution all start. I appreciate Vince sharing his insights.

What's Important Now? - Start with Consciousness and let it flow into the other 3 C's.

Take care.

Brian Willis

Committed to the pursuit of excellence through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

Contact me at winningmind@mac.com if you would like to have speak to your team,  your organization or at your conference. 

www.winningmindtraining.com

www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com

www.amithatman.com

W.I.N. Wednesday: Lessons From Life's Most Powerful Question - W.I.N. and the 3 C's

At a conference last week I was given the privilege of speaking to the participants during the opening ceremonies. I encouraged them to embrace three words during their week at the conference:

Connection - Commitment - Contribution

As I reflected on those three words over the past week it has become clear to me that like the W.I.N. philosophy, the 3 C's can be applied to a variety of situations. 

Connection: It seems that many people go to events and conferences to Network, believing that networking is a competition to see who can collect the most business cards. In a society where many people feel the goal is to see who can get the most Facebook 'Friends' and 'Likes', who can get the most Twitter Followers and who can Follow the most people on Twitter, many people have forgotten about connection. How many people in your life do you have a deep connection with? When you have serious challenges in your life, or are going through a rough time how many people can you reach out to for help, and guidance? This is not a slam on social media or Facebook, however when you are facing a crisis in your life would you rather have hundreds of Facebook Friends or a few deep connections?

Commitment: What are you committed to? Are you committed to your family? Are you committed to personal growth and development? Are you committed to the pursuit of personal excellence? Are you committed to developing and maintaining those deep personal connections? Are you committed to mentoring and developing other? 

Contribution: What is your contribution to the world? What is your contribution to your community? What is your contribution to your family? What is your contribution to your organization? Have you developed a cause bigger than yourself? Are you a taker or a contributor? Will the world, your community, your organization, your work group be better off because you were here? You can contribute through your time, your passion and your energy. You can contribute by being a role model and mentor. You can contribute by sharing your knowledge, wisdom and experience. 

What's Important Now? - Consider how you can apply the 3 C's in your life. 

Take care.

Brian Willis

Committed to the pursuit of excellence through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

Contact me at winningmind@mac.com if you would like to have speak to your team,  your organization or at your conference. 

www.winningmindtraining.com

www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com

www.amithatman.com

W.I.N. Wednesday: Lessons From Life's Most Powerful Question - The Urgency of Doing

"I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough, we must do."

Leonardo da Vinci

Most of us know what we should do, but we still do not do it.

We know what we should eat, but we eat crap.

We know we should workout regularly, but we sit on the couch and watch TV instead.

We know we should read daily to improve our mind, but we choose not to.

We know we should get 7 to 8 hours of sleep a night, but we don't.

Why? We have not created the urgency of doing. We do not have a why that is powerful enough to overcome the inertia. If knowing was enough we would all eat healthy, get lots of sleep, exercise daily, treat others with respect, save money, be non smokers and lead amazing lives. 

The fact others tell you that you should is not enough. 

What's Important Now? Determine the new behaviour you know you should engage in. Come up with a 'why' that is personal, present tense and powerful enough to overcome the inertia. Once you start there will be some continued resistance but if your why is powerful enough you will overcome that resistance and build momentum. In his book Good to Great Jim Collins describes this as the flywheel principle:

In building greatness,..the process resembles relentlessly pushing a giant, heavy flywheel in one direction, turn upon turn, building momentum until a point of breakthrough, and beyond.

What's Important Now? Create your urgency of doing. 

Take care.

Brian Willis

Committed to the pursuit of excellence through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

Contact me at winningmind@mac.com if you would like to have speak to your team,  your organization or at your conference. 

www.winningmindtraining.com

www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com

www.amithatman.com

W.I.N. Wednesday: Lessons From Life's Most Powerful Question - The Secret to Success

One of the blogs I subscribe to is Gapingvoid Art (www.gapingvoidart.com) by artist / cartoonist / author Hugh Macleod. I read a couple of Hugh's books (Evil Plans and Ignore Everyone) prior to subscribing to the blog. His blog consists of one of his cartoon drawings, which each contain a simple life message and some additional words of wisdom. 

One of his recent posts was 'How to Be Successful'. It contained three points that I believe embrace What's Important Now?

How to be successful:

1. Find out what matters. 

2. Find out who matters.

3. Carry on. 

What's Important Now? Do #1 and #2, then carry on. 

Take care.

Brian Willis

Committed to the pursuit of excellence through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

Contact me at winningmind@mac.com if you would like to have speak to your team,  your organization or at your conference. 

www.winningmindtraining.com

www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com

www.amithatman.com

W.I.N. Wednesday: Lessons From Life's Most Powerful Question - Building a ship?

"If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people together to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea" 

Antoine de Saint-Exupery

This quote is consistent with Simon Sinek's theory on "Start with Why". In both his book and his TED talk Sinek  makes a strong case that before you get to how and what you need to start with why. I believe this is true in sales, in business and in life. 

If you want to make significant and lasting changes in your life you need to start with why and "long for the endless immensity of the sea". This is the reason most people fail to stick with New Years resolutions. They only focus on the what (lose weight, work out more, quit drinking) without first creating an impelling why. 

When I work with people using Performance Enhancement Imagery (PEI) or teach PEI to trainers and coaches one of the keys is to find out from the person who is benefitting from the imagery, "Why is this change important to you?" Without a compelling why (for them, not for anyone else), the how and what will fade away and the change will not last.

If you want to inspire people in your organization to pursue excellence or gather support for your cause start by teaching them to long for the immensity of the sea; start with why. 

If you want to make lasting changes in your life, first determine why it is important to YOU. 

Take care.

Brian Willis

Committed to the pursuit of excellence through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

Contact me at winningmind@mac.com if you would like to have speak to your team,  your organization or at your conference. 

www.winningmindtraining.com

www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com

www.amithatman.com

W.I.N. Wednesday: Lessons From Life's Most Powerful Question - Do the math.

Some Sochi Winter Olympic statistics:

• 2800+ athletes
• 88 nations
• 98 events - 7 sports (15 sport disciplines)
• Population of the USA - 317,541,000 - Athletes competing in Sochi - 250
• Population of Canada - 35, 295, 770 - Athletes competing in Sochi - 220

Now that you have a few facts here is a question - What do you celebrate? 

Do you celebrate the journey of these athletes to just get to the Olympics or do you just celebrate the podium finishes? Do you celebrate the effort these men and women have put in for years, and that they put in at the games or just the victories? 

Sadly, society has gotten to the point where many people only celebrate podium finishes and some only celebrate Gold medal wins and see Silver and Bronze medals as a disappointment. 

Take a few minutes and do the math (I would do it for you, but math is not my thing). What percentage of residents of Canada and the US will ever qualify to compete in the Olympics? Of all the athletes that do compete in Sochi what percentage will actually win a medal? 

Take a few minutes and read the blog post The Ups and Downs of Sochi by Scott Perras, a proud Canadian, a biathlon athlete, an Olympic athlete and a young man I am proud to call my friend. It will give you some insight into one of those 2800 athletes and the realities of Olympic competition. 

We need to learn to celebrate the journey of these men and women. We need to celebrate the effort, the sacrifices, the passion, the commitment to their sport and to their countries. We need to celebrate the competition not just the result. 

What's Important Now? Ask yourself "What am I celebrating today?" Celebrate your journey. Celebrate the small successes in your life. Teach your children and your employees to celebrate their successes. 

Take care.

Brian Willis

Committed to the pursuit of excellence through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

Contact me at winningmind@mac.com if you would like to have speak to your team,  your organization or at your conference. 

www.winningmindtraining.com

www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com

www.amithatman.com

W.I.N. Wednesday: Lessons From Life's Most Powerful Question - Somebody helped you. Who?

"No matter what accomplishments you make, somebody helped you."

Althea Gibson

Last week I talked about the Olympics and challenged you to become Olympic calibre in your personal and professional life.

This week I want to emphasize that the journey to Olympic calibre in sport, business or life is not one you take by yourself. For every athlete that competes in the Olympics there are countless people who helped them get there. There are parents, siblings, spouses, friends, teammates, technical coaches, athletic therapists, sponsors, massage therapists, strength and conditioning coaches, medical doctors, chiropractors, sports psychologists, equipment managers, travel agents, and team logistics people. This list does not cover everyone and did not even mention the people who maintain the event facilities and run the competitive events as well as the officials at all levels of competition. 

At the Oscars they have to limit the winners to a very short acceptance speech or they would go on for hours thanking all the people who helped them reach the pinnacle of their career and win that award. 

The same applies to you. Regardless of what you have accomplished in life there are scores of people who helped you get there. Who are they? Do you understand and acknowledge the role they played in your success? Have you ever thanked them for what they have done to help you succeed? 

What's Important Now? Stay Humble. Stay hungry. Always remember the words of Althea Gibson, "No matter what accomplishments you make, somebody helped you." and reach out to say thank you. 

Take care.

Brian Willis

Committed to the pursuit of excellence through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

Contact me at winningmind@mac.com if you would like to have speak to your team,  your organization or at your conference. 

www.winningmindtraining.com

www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com

www.amithatman.com

W.I.N. Wednesday: Lessons From Life's Most Powerful Question - Achievement, the Olympics and You

"Achievement is largely the product of steadily raising one's levels of aspiration... and expectation."

 Jack Nicklaus 

The 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics start this week. I always enjoy watching the Olympic competitions and this year I am extra excited as I have had the opportunity over the past couple of years to work as a mental preparation coach for one of the Canadian Olympians.

As you watch the Winter Olympics over the next two weeks remember that the athlete you are cheering for did not start out as an Olympic athlete. In fact, many of those athletes did not even think of the Olympic games when they first strapped on a pair of skis or skates. They simply wanted to be able to make it across the rink or down 100 yards down the hill without falling down. As their competence and confidence grew so did their aspirations and expectations. Some of the athletes transitioned from other sports like track and football into bobsled or other winter sports late in their athletic careers. For all the athletes their ability to get to this level is a result of years of hard work and commitment. Years of steadily raising their levels of aspiration and expectation. 

While most of us will never compete in an Olympic games we can accomplish Olympic level achievement in our own lives as parents, teachers, law enforcement professionals, nurses, sales reps, janitors, truck drivers, or any other field of endeavour. In life, as in the Olympics, achievement is a result of a personal commitment to always be a little better tomorrow than you are today - steadily raising one's level of aspiration and expectation.   

What's Important Now? - What did you do yesterday to make yourself a little better? What are you committed to do today? 

Take care.

Brian Willis

Committed to the pursuit of excellence through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

Contact me at winningmind@mac.com if you would like to have speak to your team,  your organization or at your conference. 

www.winningmindtraining.com

www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com

www.amithatman.com

W.I.N. Wednesday: Lessons From Life's Most Powerful Question - Stop Doing Stupid

During a presentation at a National Speakers Association conference retired Navy Commander Mary Kelly  gave a profound piece of advice to allow each of us to be more productive and successful in our lives - Stop Doing Stupid. 

She encouraged the audience to ask themselves:

• What did I do today that was stupid?
• What did I do today that was a complete waste of time.

This is clear, concise, in your face advice. The message is Stop Doing Stupid, not Stop Being Stupid. It is not about beating yourself up for doing stupid things, we all do stupid things. It is about recognizing it when we do stupid things and changing those behaviours. 

What's Important Now? - Stop Doing Stupid.

Take care.

Brian Willis

Committed to the pursuit of excellence through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

Contact me at winningmind@mac.com if you would like to have speak to your team,  your organization or at your conference. 

www.winningmindtraining.com

www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com

www.amithatman.com

W.I.N. Wednesday: Lessons From Life's Most Powerful Question - If you can't fly….

"If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward."

 Martin Luther King, Jr.

As I write this I am looking at this quote on a coffee cup I received from a Victim Services group I did a presentation for. This is a powerful message for people who have been victims of crime or victims of tragedy. 

It is also a powerful message for each of us in our day to day lives. 

Some days we wake up with great expectations for the day, expecting to fly, then something happens that takes the wind out from beneath our wings. The tendency can be to stop, hunker down, feel sorry for ourselves, write the day off as a loss and just do nothing. 

I have these days. I think we all do. I have days when I sit down to write one of my three weekly blogs, or work on a new presentation or seminar all fired up to write great content and have an amazingly productive day and something happens that throws me off. It might be an e-mail or phone call with bad news. It might be an unexpected bill or expense from your car or an appliance breaking down. It might be an illness in the family. Whatever it is, you feel like life just clipped your wings.

For me the key is to just keep moving forward. To keep writing, keep learning, keep working to find the good in the experience and to seek to put whatever happened in perspective. I may not be overly productive, I may have just crawled through the day but, at the end of the day I can be proud of the fact I kept moving forward and made some progress. Sometimes however, just the simple act of moving forward helps us to regain momentum and get back on track. 

It can be easy to make excuses, sink into victim mode and stop moving forward. 

What's Important Now is to choose something different. 

What's Important Now is to choose to keep moving forward. 

Take care.

Brian Willis

Committed to the pursuit of excellence through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

Contact me at winningmind@mac.com if you would like to have speak to your team,  your organization or at your conference. 

www.winningmindtraining.com

www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com

www.amithatman.com

W.I.N. Wednesday: Lessons From Life's Most Powerful Question - I don' t have a degree, I have a…….

I was watching an interview with the entrepreneur Cesar Millan who is perhaps best known as "the dog whisperer". Millan has an incredible story of the power of the entrepeneurial spirit. In the interview his answer to a question about his formal education really resonated with me. He said, "I don't have a degree, I have a desire." 

I am a high school dropout. I quit high school part way through Grade 11. A few years later I realized I needed to make some significant changes in my life if I wanted to pursue my dream of being a police officer. So, I quit smoking, started working out, lost 60 pounds, completed two years of high school in six months through an adult education program, started volunteering for the YMCA and took on more responsibility at work. I was living in Edmonton at the time and was trying to get on with the Edmonton Police Service. Following my second unsuccessful attempt I was informed by the Staff Sergeant in Recruiting that because I had never been to college or university that I was not 'smart enough' to make it through training. What struck me as strange was that he did not care what I took at college or university, or if I ever graduated. If I went, even for a couple of years, it would make me smart enough to get through training. Like Millan I did not have a degree, but I had a desire so I applied to other police departments. I was able to get hired by the Calgary Police and through hard work finished at the top of my class academically. 

My oldest son Jesse owns a very successful boutique wine store in Calgary. Jesse does not have a degree, but he has a desire. My son Cody is on pace to open his own restaurant in Calgary shortly after his 28th birthday. Based on everything he has done so far that restaurant will be successful the day they open the doors. Cody does not have a degree, but he has a desire. 

Don't get me wrong. I am a huge fan of education and learning. I have been committed to self education, learning and personal growth for a long time. Jesse and Cody are continually learning and studying about business, wine, food and marketing. They are talking to people who have been successful in business and learning from them. They are reading, experiencing, doing, failing, learning and doing more. 

What bothers me is when I hear people tell their children, "Without a university degree you will never be successful." or, "If you want to make something of yourself you have to go to college or university."  The research is very clear however that there is no correlation between formal education and success in life. The world is full of well educated unsuccessful people. There are a lot of people who have amassed huge debt from student loans going to college or university taking programs because that is what they need to do to 'be successful'. Going to college or university does not guarantee you will be happy or successful in life. 

I am a fan of getting 'an education', but there are many ways in life to accomplish that. Formal education is simply one path. Have a plan. Focus on what you are learning, rather than simply what courses should I take, and always imagine how the learning applies to life and to helping you accomplish your goals. 

Take care.

Brian Willis

Committed to the pursuit of excellence through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

Contact me at winningmind@mac.com to book me to speak to your team, your organization or at your conference. 

www.winningmindtraining.com

www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com

www.amithatman.com

W.I.N. Wednesday: Lessons From Life's Most Powerful Question - A company of dwarfs or giants?

"If each of us hires people who are smaller than we are, we shall become a company of dwarfs. But if each of us hires people who are bigger than we are, we shall become a company of giants." 

David Ogilvy

If you are responsible for hiring people for your organization or selecting people for your team then pay close attention to Ogilvy's message. too many leaders let their ego get in the way and always hire people smaller than they are. Great leaders have tremendous humility and understand the way to grow both the business and themselves is to hire people bigger (smarter, more skilled) than they are and make sure those people get the credit for their ideas and accomplishments. 

If you do not have hiring responsibilities then pay close attention to who you surround yourself with; who you associate with. 

Do you associate with people who will continually tell you, or prove to you, how smart you are? Or, do you associate with people who will challenge you, ask you the tough questions and push you to grow and improve?

It is nice once in a while to be the smartest person in the room, but it is easy to get complacent if that is the norm. If you are always the smartest person in the room, find a new room. 

Associate with people who inspire you through their actions, knowledge and accomplishments. People who through questions and stimulating conversation and debate help you to understand how much you still have to learn. 

Read books and listen to audio programs that challenge how you view the world rather than confirm your view of the world. You just might be surprised at what you learn from the experience. 

Take care.

Brian Willis

Committed to the pursuit of excellence through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

Contact Brian at winningmind@mac.com to book him to speak to your organization or at your conference. 

www.winningmindtraining.com

www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com

www.amithatman.com

W.I.N. Wednesday: Lessons From Life' s Most Powerful Question - The Goal is Not to Live Forever

"The goal isn't to live forever. The goal is to create something that will."

Chuck Palahniuk

The first word that came to mind when I read this quote is Legacy. I strongly believe that a Legacy is something that you create every day that you live, rather than simply something you leave behind when we die. 

In your life you lead many roles (mother/father, son/daughter, sister/brother, husband/wife, friend, mentor, leader, teacher) and in each of those roles you create a legacy through the way that you live your life and the way you treat people in every aspect of your life.

In your life do you build people up, or do you tear people down? Do you inspire people to greatness, or convince them to settle? Do you make people feel important and valued? Do you leave your team, your workplace, your community and the world a better place because you were here? Do you seek opportunities to pay it forward by being a mentor? 

Robert Louis Stevenson challenges us to judge each day not by the harvest that we reap (what's in it for me), but by the seeds that we plant (what are we doing for others). 

What's Important Now? - Commit to always be better tomorrow than you are today. Seek to pay it forward. If you develop yourself and inspire and develop others you will create something that will live forever.  

Take care.

Brian Willis

Speaker, author, trainer and a man with many questions

To book Brian to speak to your organization or at your conference or event contact him at winningmind@mac.com 

www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com

www.winningmindtraining.com

www.amithatman.com

W.I.N. Wednesday: Lessons From Life' s Most Powerful Question - Beaten Paths

One of the newsletter readers sent me an e-mail recently with a photo of a 'motivational' poster that was up in their office and their addendum to the message.

The poster says, "Beaten Paths Are For Beaten Men." It is meant to inspire us to fight against the status quo and forge new paths, new adventures and new successes in life. 

Their addendum reads: 

"Then again, you have a perfectly good path that leads you in the direction you want to go…the "path" is beaten for a reason after all. There is a time to blaze new trails and then there are times to take the path…the wisdom is knowing when."

I like the additions they made to the message. We need to learn from those who have gone before us and take wise counsel from those who have forged that 'beaten path'. It is not always necessary to reinvent the wheel. There are other times however, when we need to forge a new trail and seek to establish better practices and next practices instead of simply embracing 'best practices'. 

The key as they point out is, "the wisdom is knowing when." That is where Life's Most Powerful Question comes in. Asking yourself What's important Now? will often provide the clarity and the wisdom to know which is the best course of action. Continuing to ask the question will allow us to understand when we have chosen the wrong path and correct our course. 

I am a big fan of quotes and like the message on many of the motivational type posters. What I love about this story is the people involved did not just see it as another poster, they did not simply accept the message and move on. They stopped to reflect of what it meant, and more importantly how it could be improved and applied to their lives. Well done. 

What's Important Now? - Continue to question, to learn, to challenge and to grow. Develop the wisdom to know when to follow the path and when to create your own. 

Take care.

Brian Willis

Speaker, author, trainer and a man with many questions

To book Brian to speak to your organization or at your conference or event contact him at winningmind@mac.com

www.winningmindtraining.com

www.amithatman.com

www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com

W.I.N. Wednesday - Lessons From Life' s Most Powerful Question - Stop trying to be 'the best'.

"Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming." 

John Wooden

Success is not about being 'the best', it is about being your best. Trying to be the best always results in comparing yourself with someone else. It means you have to compete with others and measure yourself against other people. It is a mindset of always trying to be as good as, or better than someone else. Trying to be the best often results in frustration, disappointment, resentment and too often results in people giving up. 

Striving to be your best means you commit to always being better tomorrow, than you are today. It means  acknowledging and building on your strengths and talents. It means you compete with yourself and not with outside sources or other people's perceptions. It is about being who you are but, creating distinction by being the best possible version of you. 

Striving to be your best will produce greater results and greater success that trying too be 'the best'. 

What's Important Now? - Commit to always be better tomorrow than you are today. How? Schedule time every day to read. Make time each week to watch an inspiring TED talk, or to spend time with someone who can help you to learn and grow.  Reflect on and learn from your mistakes and failures. 

Brian Willis

Thought leader, speaker, author and a man with many questions.

www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com

www.winningmindtraining.com

www.amithatman.com