November 23, 2016 by

Intentional Gratitude

Intentional Gratitude Happy ThanksgivingOne of the first CEO’s I had direct contact with while working with him often stated – the door swings both ways. This applied to a number of instances from deals we were negotiating to employees being hired or fired. The statement applies to viewpoints we all hold near and dear to our hearts as well.

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them.” ~John F. Kennedy 

Have you ever considered how others see you? Especially when speaking out with a certain point of view or value system. Do we each live out these ideals and view points?

Is it possible, at least for a few days if not longer, everyone will intentional stop wearing their political opinions on their chest and enjoy having conversations with people on other topics?

“The way to develop the best that is in a person is by appreciation and encouragement.”    ~Charles Schwab 

Each day is there someone we come into contact with where we may offer our appreciation and even encouragement to them. Are there people we come into contact with often where we are actually withholding our appreciation and encouragement to? 

How many of us are going to a food store to pick up a few last minute items or to purchase everything needed for the family feast?  Do you stop and look at the person, the real human being, behind the register scanning each item? Maybe, just maybe ask how they are doing at this busy season? What are they doing for Thanksgiving?

Be intentional with gratitude for your family, your health, for what you and your family have in life.  Celebrate by being intentional with gratitude to people you interact with.

It does not take more than a few minutes. Your caring attention and a few kind words may make someone’s day.

“Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.”
~ Mother Theresa

It is my hope and wish you will take in a few deep breaths and reflect on how really fortunate you are to be able to do exactly that. There are people who struggle for each single breath.

Here are a few thoughts to read through to help get you in the mood if you are not there yet.

“You never know when a moment and a few sincere words can impact a life forever.”                                                            ~ Zig Zigler

“They may forget your name but they will never forget how you made them feel.”
~ Maya Angelou

There may be some of you who are getting really upset with me. You feel that these are way too soft. In fact you are wondering if this article was outsourced. You should know me better than that by now. Every single word is written by me each week! This quote then is for all of you –

“Usually, what angry people need most is not more hostility, but to hear just a few kind words… to know someone cares. Like ‘Calm down, everything is going to be okay, you stupid psychotic f***’.”
~ Buster Gore

Enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday.

Mitch Tublin runs a boutique consulting company providing strategic and lean advice to a variety of mid-size companies to start-ups. As an advanced certified coach his practice is based in Stamford, CT.

Filed Under: Inspiration, Mindset Tagged With: , , , , , ,
July 28, 2016 by

Make A Difference Every Day!

leaf-make-changeA few months ago a local landscaper, he may have been close to eighty years old, passed away. He was still actively working his craft. Lawn care and shrubs were his specialty. He was once heard to say, a few weeks before his death, if he stopped working he would probably die within a few weeks.

For me I miss waving to him and getting a wave back as I would often see his truck around town in various neighborhoods or riding his power mower across someone’s lawn he was caring for.

If you go to workout at a local fitness center each day – you get to know the workout routines of the regulars. In fact, everyone has their favorite machine and with the early crowd it is almost like clock work as people move from one location within the gym to the next almost on a schedule. You get to know and chat with the desk workers and other people who work at the facility.

Here is a news story about one of the regular desk people from a facility here in CT –

______________________

BRIDGEPORT — A 24 year-old Bridgeport woman was killed Sunday afternoon when another vehicle moved into her lane on I-95, striking the side of her car and sending it into the concrete barrier.

Akhailia Shameal Jackson of Connecticut Avenue was transported from the scene to Bridgeport Hospital, where she was pronounced dead shortly after the 5:27 p.m. crash, State Police said Monday.

Jackson had been driving her Toyota Camry in the right lane on the southbound side of I-95 near Exit 29 when a Mitsubishi being driven by Livis Rodriguez, 26, of Lawrence, Mass. clipped the left passenger door, causing Jackson to swerve, crossing three travel lanes and striking the concrete barrier on the median, State Police said.

Rodriguez and her three passengers were not injured.

The accident remains under investigation.

(from a posting by the CTPost.com )

______________________

For me I miss Akhailia’s beautiful smile and the new hairdo she would have each week.

Ok, stop with the bad news Mitch – Please!

Will do!

Here is the thing, any day, without any notice, anything may happen to you or to the ones you cherish and love. This is where everyone says – “We know Mitch!”

Ok, cool, and…

Do we change our behavior and give out hugs and actually state our love to those we love each day?

Do we change our behavior and not worry about the small stuff anymore?

Do we change our behavior and consider what we are doing each day to impact others in a meaningful way?

How about the people we work with on a daily basis? The person in the office who is always miserable – when is the last time you said hello to them or spoke with them about their family?

When is the last time you spoke with one of your clients or customers about their personal life? Checked in on how they are doing in their lives?

If you work in a building do you know the names of the people who work the security desk and the cleaning crew who show up every evening?

How about your family? Do you and your wife and children ever sit down and have dinner together with no devices on – no cell – no laptop – no music – zero devices, only good old conversation? When is the last time you sat with one child and only the two of you had a conversation?

What about the world around you?

Is there anything intentional you are doing to make the world a better place?

Of course this seems too big to tackle and it is – however – start with one place or with one thing – the point is why not start?

By the way, this is not to wish anyone ill will or telling you in anyway your time is almost up. The point is, what if it is?

Mitch Tublin has traveled to Guatemala and to Paraguay paying his own airfare, food and hotel costs for a week in each location in order to train local people on transformational leadership – values based leadership. This was accomplished by facilitating RoundTables with a translator by his side. Would you, your company or organization be interested in hearing this story?  Contact Mitch’s Team here to book him to speak.

Mitch Tublin is an advanced certified executive coach, trainer and speaker based in Stamford, CT.

Filed Under: Inspiration, Self Improvement, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , ,
February 11, 2016 by

Where Do You Have An Impact?

Where do you have an impact? By design in your life, in your choices, your actions, your behavior – do you ever consider “where do I have an impact?”

Take a moment and list these – yes right now – write them down either print this out and write them here or take out a notebook or open a new place on your device and take notes.

“Where Do I Have An Impact?” What if we now switch this around and ask instead, “Where Do I Intentionally Want To Have An Impact?”

John C. Maxwell and Mitch Tublin in ParaguayThis last week myself and 250 other John Maxwell Team Certified Trainers, Coaches and Speakers returned from spending a week in Paraguay. Our goal was to train 10,000 people to become facilitators and in the classic train the trainer format continue on with at least four other people. Then have them continue on with four people. Four people as a minimum number.

Paraguay has a similar issue to other Nations in South America and Latin America with deep roots in corruption and the aspects which go along with these lines. Paraguay has it’s own unique issues from a devastating war which wiped generations of men off the map plus land and control in the region loss as well. With this being said there is a generation of young people who are striving for and hunger for a new start. A new way of life – without corruption. Where values based leadership is the driving force throughout all of society within Paraguay.

Each of us knew the following each and every day once we arrived in our staging/breakfast room at 5 AM: You are going some where, with some one, at some time, to do some thing with people. With people who want to make a difference at a time – at a time to make a difference.

That is all we knew! It did not take me long to realize the impact on the people. A session might begin with some disbelief or someone wondering how such a huge undertaking is even possible? By the end of the session upon realizing that if each person did one small thing, did their part, added all up, a huge movement would be taking place. With tears in their eyes as the session closed, with selfies being taken, hugs and kisses being given freely it was clear the seeds of transformation were planted.

La Transformacion esta en mi!

This is the line used and it appeared on materials, jerseys, handouts, gear and in the Presentation itself as a team building and bonding shout out together.

The Transformation Starts With Me!

Even writing this out now chills run through my body with such joy for the people of Paraguay as they begin this journey. There is no way we met by accident. This Movement and each one of us who volunteered to Intentionally Impact People in Paraguay to bring values based leadership and Transformation to their culture and society this did not happen by accident.

Is it time for you to act intentionally in your life? Are you ready to break the daily ritual and instead make an impact with meaning?

CLICK HERE IF YOU ARE READY!

Mitch Tublin is based in Stamford, CT. He is an advanced certified executive and personal coach, trainer and speaker on topics such as leadership, effective communication and emotional intelligence. Contact Mitch here.

Filed Under: Coach Mentor, Inspiration, Leadership, Self Improvement Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,
December 31, 2015 by

Happy New Year – 2016

“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language And next year’s words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning.”
– T.S. Eliot

“Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be.”
– George Sheehan

Have you started thinking about what you hope to accomplish this year? The New Year is a great time to clear the slate and set yourself up for a successful year. Note the accomplishments from last year and what you hope to do better this year. Take an hour or two and begin working on your plans for the coming year. Just write down what comes to mind.

Live an Intentional Life – Get started in the New Year by reading John C. Maxwell’s new book: Intentional Living.

Mitch Tublin is an advanced, certified coach, speaker and trainer based in Stamford, CT.

Filed Under: Inspiration Tagged With: , , , , ,
November 20, 2015 by

Where Do You Spend Your Time and Focus

clock-time-focusDo you have an intentional method you regularly utilize to determine what you will spend your time on?  In other words, what will your attention and focus be on and which items take priority over other items?

This spans the spectrum from personal care, to family, to community to business and more.  How do you determine what is going to be done first, second, third or in the ‘to do’ pile? 

For example in the personal category – do you shave first and shower second or shower first and shave second?  Do you go through this same exact routine all of the time? Why?

In the family category do you begin each day giving your spouse a hug and a kiss and tell them you love them?  Every single day?

In business do you answer your email first thing in the morning or later in the day? Is it at approximately the same time every day or do you answer email all day long?

These are examples for you to utilize in order to consider your own reality. Write the out here for your reference.

ITEM DO FIRST DO SECOND
Personal

Why?
Family

Why?
Community

Why?
Finances

Why?
Career/Business

Why?

 

Let’s now look at focus especially in career and business. Do you carry through all the way to completion?  At what point do you take a break and possibly walk around outside of the office for a five or ten minute ‘clear your head break’?  You might say ‘no break’or you might say ‘at least every 90 minutes’. Do you take this action step all of the time? Some of the time?  How do you handle this area – focus?

The entire point of these questions and the thinking you are being asked to do is to have you consider if there are other behaviors you might consider which would make you either more productive or free you up to be more creative?

Potentially you will come up with other questions or other thoughts which will take you along a path to follow toward achieving the stated goal.

Try it out and let me know what you find out about yourself.

Intentional Living begins with 10 minutes a day. Learn how to live a life that matters. Learn more by clicking HERE.

Mitch Tublin is an advanced certified executive coach, speaker and trainer based in Stamford, CT.

Filed Under: Time Management Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,
October 15, 2015 by

How to Make a Colossal Difference with a Small First Step

Guest Blog Post: John C. Maxwell

John Maxwell and Mitch TublinMany people look at all that’s wrong in the world and mistakenly believe that they cannot make a difference. The challenges loom large, and they feel small. They believe they must do big things to have a life that matters. Or they think they have to reach a certain place in life from which to do something significant.

Does that seed of doubt exist in you? Have you ever found yourself thinking or saying, “I will only be able to make a difference . . .

“When I come up with a really big idea,
“When I get to a certain age,
“When I make enough money,
“When I reach a specific milestone in my career,
“When I’m famous,” or
“When I retire?”

None of these things is necessary before you can start to achieve significance. You may not realize it, but those hesitations are really nothing more than excuses. The only thing you need to achieve significance is to be intentional about starting—no matter where you are, who you are, or what you have. Do you believe that? You can’t make an impact sitting still. Former NFL coach Tony Dungy once told me, “Do the ordinary things better than anyone else and you will achieve excellence.” The same is true for significance. Begin by doing ordinary things.

Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu said, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” That’s true. In fact, so does every human being’s first journey. As children, we had to learn how to take that first step in order to walk. We don’t think anything of it now, but it was a big deal then.

Every big thing that’s ever been done started with a first step.

When Neil Armstrong took his first walk on the moon, he stated, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” But the first steps of that achievement occurred decades before. We can’t get anywhere in life without taking that first small step. Sometimes the step is hard; other times it’s easy. But no matter what, you have to do it if you want to get anywhere in life.

You never know when something small that you do for others is going to expand into something big. That was true for Chris Kennedy, a golfer from Florida. In 2014, a friend nominated him to do the Ice Bucket Challenge for the charity of his choice. Kennedy passed along the challenge to his wife’s cousin Jeanette Senercia because the two liked to tease and challenge one another. Kennedy chose ALS as his charity because Jeanette’s husband suffered from the disease. Jeanette accepted the challenge, posted the video on her Facebook page, and nominated others.[i]

That was a small start of something big. In today’s digital world we talk about things going viral. The term viral was coined because ideas and initiatives can spread quickly the way germs do. Almost anything that starts out as a single idea, a bold statement, a YouTube video, or a creative or memorable photo can gain vast popularity and quickly spread through word of mouth via the Internet.

The Ice Bucket Challenge soon went viral. If you somehow missed out on it, the idea was to either donate to the ALS Association or record a video of yourself being doused with ice water, and then challenge three other people to donate or get doused.

This turned out to be a brilliant idea to raise money for an important cause—to help fight a disease that many people otherwise might not have known about and would not have donated to see cured. I participated in the challenge. Sure, I was aware of the disease, but it wasn’t a charity I normally gave to. I was nominated by colleagues to take the challenge, and I was happy to participate.

Most people chose to give and get doused. When I accepted the challenge, I made a donation and asked three of my grandchildren to do the honors of soaking me. They used not one, but three, freezing cold buckets of water on me. Though I pleaded for compassion and warm water, the grandkids showed no mercy!

The best part is that over $113.3 million was donated between July and September of 2014 as a result of the ice bucket challenge, compared to $2.7 million dollars donated during the same period of time the previous year. On Facebook alone, over 28 million people uploaded, commented, or liked ice bucket related posts the last time I checked. The purpose of the campaign wasn’t just to raise money. It was about raising awareness. But they accomplished both with great intentionality.

What can you do now? As you think about making a difference, be willing to start small. You never know whether your passion-fueled idea will have an outcome similar to that of ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.

~ Adapted from John C. Maxwell’s new book Intentional Living

Would You Like To Hear More From John C. Maxwell? Be intentional and click HERE

 

[1] Alexandra Sifferlin, “Here’s How the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge Actually Started,” Time, August 18, 2014, http://time.com/3136507/als-ice-bucket-challenge-started/, accessed January 29, 15.

 

 

Filed Under: Inspiration, Mindset, Self Improvement Tagged With: , , , ,