October 2, 2013 by

The Time Has Come To Face Your Fears

FearConsider this moment from history…

Franklin D. Roosevelt

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

“So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is…fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and of vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory. And I am convinced that you will again give that support to leadership in these critical days…” 

This direct quote is from the opening of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s first inaugural speech.

When Roosevelt was inaugurated on March 4, 1933, the U.S. was at the nadir of the worst depression in its history. A quarter of the workforce was unemployed. Farmers were in deep trouble as prices fell by 60%. Industrial production had fallen by more than half since 1929. Two million were homeless. By the evening of March 4, 32 of the 48 states, as well as the District of Columbia, had closed their banks. The New York Federal Reserve Bank was unable to open on the 5th, as huge sums had been withdrawn by panicky customers in previous days. Beginning with his inauguration address, Roosevelt began blaming the economic crisis on bankers and financiers, the quest for profit, and the self-interest basis of capitalism…

Let us review one specific portion of this speech, “The only thing we have to fear is…fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts…”

Fear. FEAR. FEAR. Why are we afraid? What are we afraid of? Many people are frozen in place due to their fear. There are people who are in positions of leadership, where others are counting on their decisions, and on their guidance, who are frozen from their own fear.

How do we overcome our fear?

F – Face Your Fear – Name it. Say it out loud. What is it that you are afraid of? You know you stay where you are unless you overcome the fear. Face it. You will overcome your fear. Tell it how. Speak it out loud.

E – Expectation – Now that you have faced your fear. What will happen as you overcome your fear? Is it about failure? Learn from failure and try it again. Learn again and try again.

A – Awareness – Okay so now you know why you are afraid and what you are afraid of. You are aware of the fear and the reality of the consequences. You are facing the possibility of failure. Maybe you are already failing, and learning and overcoming the failure. This is all working to overcome your fear. You will overcome your fear every time as long as you address it and have the full awareness of it.

R – Reward – Do it afraid! Many of us find this to be the most rewarding victories in our lives! Do it afraid. It will never be perfect. Do it afraid. One of my mentors, Paul Martinelli, says this all of the time. “Just do it afraid!”

This is not a simple subject to deal with. We all know and respect this fact. The flip side is, if we work to address this in ourselves we will be hands down further along on our path toward our achieving our desired results for our lives.

Let’s take a look at what are often reported as the “Top Ten Things People Are Fearful Of”:

  • fear of flying
  • fear of heights
  • fear of the dark
  • fear of death
  • fear of spiders
  • fear of public speaking
  • fear of failure
  • fear of rejection
  • fear of intimacy
  • fear of commitment

This list is not prepared in any particular order other than to point out that each of the fears below and including ‘fear of public speaking’ are all directly related to our business and personal lives and how we will perform in these areas. Our efforts to overcome these fears will go a long way to improving how we show up each day and move upwards and onwards the day after.

Are you willing to try the steps to how to overcome fear for each one of these fears which may be present in you?

Mitch Tublin is an advanced certified executive and personal coach who resides in Stamford, CT.

Filed Under: Inspiration Tagged With: , , , , ,
March 27, 2013 by

Three Steps to Free Up Your Time

In a previous article, Time to Watch How You Spend Your Time, it was suggested that you should track your time, in order to identify time wasters built into your schedule. In order to effectively put into use the three steps described below, a time tracking method should have been completed by you, for you, for at least a week or two.

One other calculation will be necessary in order to proceed. What is an hour of your time worth?

Step One – Review your time tracker results described in the previous article. Identify what you spent time on into a few categories. For example, “Items I must do” might be one column. Another column might be, “Personal Chores”. Another column might be, “Items someone else might be able to do.” If these example columns were your columns where are you spending most of your time? If your answer is “Items I must do”, you are being challenged right now to prove it. Is everything you are doing of the value you placed upon your hour of time value?

Step Two – In the review of your time tracker results what items do you spend time on at various times of the day which might be ‘batched’ in order to save time?

For example, if you are attending a networking lunch and in this similar geographic region are clients or prospects, call to make an appointment before or after the networking lunch. Take advantage of where you will be physically and utilize this time in this location to conduct other beneficial activities.

Step Three – What time of day and how often are you checking your email or writing emails based upon the results of your time tracker results? Schedule one or two times per day of a specific start and end time to read and/or respond to emails and stick to it. There are valuable lessons worth noting here of great importance. Your own habits in this area of responding to emails and reading emails create the urgency and expectation from others that you will respond to them in a quick and fairly immediate fashion. When you create the habit, and stick to it, of only interacting with email one or two specific times of the day at most, within a brief period of time the ‘urgency’ will change. You will relax and realize every email does not need to be answered immediately and your other side of the emails sent to you will recognize you will be responding to your emails when you get around to it, not sooner.

Incorporate these three steps into your schedule and you will free up time to utilize on other items of your choice.

Mitch Tublin is an advanced certified personal and executive coach who resides in Stamford, CT.

Filed Under: Achieve Goals, Focus, Habits Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,
January 2, 2013 by

Resolutions Without Resolve Will Not Get You Anywhere

Business SuccessDo you typically make a few New Year’s resolutions? It is widely known that over 50% of New Year’s resolutions are broken within the first seven days of the New Year. Another 50% of the remaining resolutions are broken by January 15 – meaning 75% of the brand new and created New Year’s resolutions are broken within the first two weeks and a day into the New Year.

What are we to learn from this information? Is it that most people do not know how to create a meaningful resolution? Is it that there is no accountability process to keep people on track for their resolutions? Are these possible reasons? Yes, of course. The reality is the majority of us – yes, all of us – do not embrace change. People do not embrace change. For change to become of importance the resultant benefit, value, or return on change – the ROC, the return on change – must be clearly defined, processed and internalized.

How can we prove this is true? What if you insist it is an accountability issue, and once accountability is put into place then resolutions will be kept? One example may be taken from one of the most popular personal New Year’s resolutions. This would be to lose weight and to get fit. The numbers speak for themselves. The highest spike in new memberships at health clubs and paid gym membership clubs is the period directly after New Year’s each and every year. Personal Trainers are hired and scheduled out during this period for anywhere from three weeks to three months of training one on one with new clients.

Let’s review – money has been spent which will most likely be charged monthly to a credit card. A personal trainer is paid a deposit or a full payment to meet with the new member for the next three months two or three times a week. Initially people will show up each day or three or four times a week. By the second week, they are skipping more days of working out. The trainer is sitting and waiting for the client and the client does not show up. The accountability is there and built into the system, yet people willingly are paying and simply not showing up.

Take this example now and let’s add in the buy in and the ROC, return on change, for one person. Let us say there was a heart incident. The personal physician for this person explains the life or death potential results unless diet and workout regimens are put into practice. Specific goals with timeframes are established. In this exact scenario more people will build upon their days at the new health club they joined. They will rarely miss an appointment with their personal trainer.

This example may seem dramatic to you. It does prove the point. One item to note, even in the case described, there is a measureable percentage of people who still will not show up! What else is missing?

It is something referenced as PITE, Personal Investment of Time and Effort, in my keynotes and work with clients. A person must be willing to personally invest their time and effort to effectively create change in anything they intend to create lasting change in.

Now consider for yourself, right now, what might you personally need to change? Mitch Tublin is a certified Personal and Executive Coach based in Stamford, CT.

 

Filed Under: Achieve Goals Tagged With: , , , , ,
December 18, 2012 by

Three Lists for Your Business Success

Business Success

Are you in the habit of creating to-do lists? Every once in a while you still hear a guy refer to his wife having a ‘honey-do list’ for him. Somehow this might make it’s way to the Museum of Natural History where most Neanderthal Items reside. Seriously though

this is actually an activity you might consider undertaking with your partner and your children. Each of them will work on their own and then you each present your lists and compare and discuss with each other what you wrote.

It is really ‘your own’ to do list.

The year end is closing in on all of us, with a fresh New Year waiting for us to show up. This is the perfect time to take on this easy project. If you are going to partner with your spouse and even with your children here are the simple rules. Three separate pages or if electronic, then three unique documents or notes.

  • The first page is titled – “Where Am I Now?”
  • The second page is titled – “Where Am I Going?”
  • The Third Page is titled – “Why?”

The rules are simple – keep the writing brief, just note what comes to mind. You must suspend the need to know ‘how’! This is worth repeating. You must suspend the need to know ‘how’ !

More dreams are ended and ideas are crushed from drowning in the ‘how’.

  • How will we do this?
  • How will we make this?
  • How do we …?

STOP! Suspend for a moment the need to know how. This list making project is all about three simple titles or subject headings.

  • “Where Am I Now?”
  • “Where Am I Going?”
  • “Why?”

If you are asking me to explain to you first – why? Why do this, for what purpose? Fair enough. We are all busy. We all get distracted. There is our business, our craft. We have our families. There are emails, cell phones, iPhones, iPads, text messages, social media, and so much more. We may volunteer in our community. There must be a time, a place, a process we establish to ground ourselves. This may be one of the methods you will utilize to move yourself into this process. The added bonus of conducting this effort along with others is to celebrate the sharing with them.

You should book a date and a time when you will all meet and present your three areas to each other. There is no place for criticism at this event. Everyone should be supportive and engaging with each other. Keep the ‘how’ out of the room. In fact, take on this list creation project and invite your spouse and your children to join you. Let me know how you make out.

Are you stuck? Is this article scary to you? Or are you ready to embrace where you want to go? In either case, contact Executive Coach, Mitch Tublin, and together you will map out your journey and begin to navigate toward where you want to go – Info@easysmallbusinesssolutions.com or call 877-907-8223.

Filed Under: Business Strategy Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,
December 11, 2012 by

Technology, Tracking Codes, and Rules May Cause Failure in the Ability to Think

Business OperationsAfter storm Sandy, our street had trees down, branches and more. We knew we were lucky. We know this could have been a lot worse. A tree sat on our front porch, with roof damage and more. This AM our street was clear of debris for the first time since the storm. We know there are others who still have no power and lost their homes, and we were fortunate. The remaining visible evidence of the event is the front roof, the missing fixtures, the yellow tape and signs to not use the front entrance, and instead use the side entrance for anyone coming by the house.

One strange item we noticed. During the last three weeks with a street packed with trees, parts of trees, and other debris packing curb, after curb, plus a clearly marked front porch, each delivery person from large and recognizable companies decided to walk passed the warning signs. They climb over the yellow warning tape to place their delivery item up by the front door. It was time to act and prevent a potential injury.

The two very large and well known delivery companies, FEDEX and UPS, both have a toll free line to speak with a representative. Once the story was told that this was dangerous and is there a way to note in their files that my address should have deliveries to a side entrance, here is the response from each company, both FEDEX and UPS, “do you have a tracking number so we may resolve your issue”?

In a calm manner we went through the story again two more times. “We cannot do anything to resolve your issue without a tracking number”. They each, both FEDEX and UPS, said this ‘resolve your issue’. My issue! This was about their delivery people and their safety! Does technology, tracking codes and rules cause a failure in the ability to think?

If you remember the old board game ‘Chutes and Ladders’, this is what is missing when you have technology and systems dictating your policy manual. There needs to be a way to escape and work around issues, by either sliding under or climbing over the out of the ordinary situations. If your business has real people as customers and real people who interact with your customers, there will be times and circumstances where the ability to think must be built into the system, built into the training, and become part of the manual. One area for this exception should always be around safety. The other areas would be defined by your business. People need to be able to use their common sense in your business.

Allow for a representative to consider what the situation is from the customer point of view and to determine if this is one of the ‘Chutes and Ladders’ exceptions.

Regardless of the size of your company, when people are able to have a discussion and openly ask the non-scripted questions to obtain more information and determine how to solve a situation, the customers will take notice. You will create raving fans for your business.

Contact Mitch Tublin today to review your business operations and inject common sense where lacking. Mitch will work together with you and your team. The improvements will be dramatic. – Info@easysmallbusinesssolutions.com or call 877-907-8223.

 

Filed Under: Business Structure, Habits, Managing People Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
December 4, 2012 by

Zig Ziglar Will Live On Through His Work Teaching Business Success

Mitch Tublin and Zig ZiglarOne of the questions Zig Ziglar answered for me when we met was about being a ‘motivational’ speaker and how do you respond when someone you are discussing this topic with says to you, “Motivational speakers are engaging as it is happening, but then it is all gone when we leave the room.” Zig smiled and told me this story about his response to a corporate booking agent who said something similar to him, “Sometimes people will say motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.” A classic Zig Ziglar quote if ever there was one.

When you consider the concept of spaced repetition for real learning (the concept of reading and listening to the same material over and over to make it stick) Zig Ziglar, Paul J. Meyer and Jim Rohn were three of the leaders in this movement. Yes, they each conducted live presentations. In addition, they had books, workbooks, cassette tapes and courses which you were able to purchase. The technology which exists today certainly places their delivery methods into the, “What, people used to do it that way?” category.

Yet, their content and material remain timeless.

Some examples:

“If you do what you have always done, you will get what you have always gotten.” – Paul J. Meyer

“Be a lifelong dreamer and a goal setter.” – Paul J. Meyer

“Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live” – Jim Rohn

“Affirmation without discipline is the beginning of delusion.” – Jim Rohn

“If God wanted us to live in a permissive society He would have given us Ten Suggestions and not Ten Commandments.” – Zig Ziglar

“If you want to reach a goal, you must ‘see the reaching’ in your own mind before you actually arrive at your goal.” – Zig Ziglar

You might notice a similar thread throughout their thinking. This is especially true when you read their books or listen to their talks back, to back, to back. The topics are filled with values, honesty, taking a stand and standing for something. A religious base is the foundation, yet not in an overwhelming way. Meaning the goal was to teach and not necessarily be a missionary.

What does come to mind now that all three of these motivational men are gone – who are the next three people? Who motivates you? Who has the quotes and the thinking which inspires you? Let the conversation begin…

Are you ready to learn and grow? Do you seek a change into more than you are today? Make an appointment with Mitch Tublin now! – Info@easysmallbusinesssolutions.com or call 877-907-8223.

Filed Under: Be An Expert, Coach Mentor, Inspiration, Self Improvement, The Real You Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,
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