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Get Results: what you do in this moment
Get Results: what you do in this moment

The only thing that truly exists is THIS MOMENT.

Yesterday is consigned to history, there’s nothing that can be done to change or affect it anymore.

Tomorrow is simply a construct of the mind and is always in the future. You can never directly interact with it and it can only be influenced by what you do in the here and now.

What you do in THIS MOMENT shapes all your tomorrow’s, so it’s important you make it count. If you’re the type of person that says “I’ll make a fresh start …..” whether it be next Monday, next week, next month or January 1st (via a New Years resolution), understand that you’re simply procrastinating.  Procrastination usually occurs because of some underlying fear.

THIS MOMENT is the only time that exists. By the time Monday comes round, it will be the now, no different to the now you face in THIS MOMENT.

I like to keep a “THIS MOMENT” focus, it helps me make better decisions that support my goals. It’s a no tolerance approach to life.

Passing responsibility is passing power

If you pass the responsibility for taking action into tomorrow and beyond you are also passing the power to take action into tomorrow, and are essentially living a “wishful life”, Wishing and dreaming things will change for you, instead of taking charge and making it happen through consistent action. Action is required to drive you into the arms of your goal, and there is no other time to make a start than “NOW”.

Get Results: what you do in this moment shapes all your tomorrows. make it count
Get Results: what you do in this moment shapes all your tomorrows. make it count

 

Why You’re NOT Getting The Results You Crave

Get Results
Get Results

This is a piece I posted in 2015 on a different website, I thought I would include it here. I lost 3 stone within a few months, and continue to maintain the same weight today, so I consider that a success.

Originally posted 18th June 2015


Are you feeling frustrated that you’re not getting the results you crave? Disappointed with your poor results? Ongoing failure can lead to chronic anger, where you become difficult to be around in other areas of your life, snapping at others for the least thing. Often this state of being causes many to give up with a deep feeling of failure remaining in the background of their mind.

Wouldn’t life be so much better if you could take control of your destiny, without feelings and other things getting in your way. We all want to be high achievers, successful and consistently able to get results even if we fool ourselves into thinking otherwise.

Knowledge

I recently decided  to lose weight and knew that a combination of exercise and diet would be critically important. knowing what I should be eating, and when, as well as knowing the best type of exercise to be most effective for my weight loss being key to success. I want to lose a lot of weight in fact.  I’m currently 19 stone, which is the heaviest I’ve ever been in my life, and I’ve decided it has to go, I’m aiming to get down to 15 stone over the next 12 months or sooner if possible. Below is what I think I need to do to lose weight

Exercise

  • Build muscle – resistance exercise rather than cardio
  • High intensity exercise, with low impact on joints
  • Don’t sit so much at my computer and have regular breaks in between, walking around and standing more
  • Burn more calories than consume on a daily basis

Diet

  • Low calorie intake
  • Regular intake throughout the day rather than binge eating late at night
  • More calories early in day and less at night
  • Less snacking of fatty foods, instead fruit and veg snacks if at all
  • Drink less fizzy drinks and consume more water

This is only a brief overview of my plan of action based on the little bit of research I’ve done so far, I won’t bore you with the details, the important thing to know is it’s vitally important you find a good source of accurate up-to-date information to enable you to succeed in your endeavour. There is so much conflicting information out there about subjects such as weight loss, fitness, business, on-line business and the like, it can be really difficult to know for sure that you have the right information you need. Most of the time I go with the view, if it makes sense give it a go, but if I’m honest I’m forever reading and improving my knowledge bank and searching out more information. knowledge is power or the potential for power, but without action it’s useless.

Motivation                                   

Well  for me, this is a biggie particularly when considering the subject of losing weight. I don’t need to work on my motivation levels for business because it just comes easily to me, but cutting down calories and exercising are not my favourite things to do. I have an inner conflict which stops me doing what I should be doing and keeps me doing what I shouldn’t (cognitive dissonance)

What I mean by that is I eat too much fatty foods because I love the taste of it (doing what I shouldn’t be doing) and don’t do what I should be doing (eating healthier and restricting my calorie intake). This is double negative. When it comes to the exercise part of the equation, I’m just as bad, not exercising, instead sitting watching the TV or working on my laptop.

So what’s going on here. I want to do something I shouldn’t be and don’t really want to do something I should. The end result is I pile on more weight and move ever further from my goal of losing weight.

This is what’s going on in a lot of us I suspect.  Lack of motivation and cognitive dissonance (inner conflict) is not just killing us but killing our chances of getting the results we crave.

There is no silver bullet I’m afraid. Gonna have to make a change mentally and physically if I wanna achieve my goal.

Get Results – Make the changes

I recently came across this quote or similar but I remember like this:

“What you do in this moment shapes all your tomorrows – make it count”

Get Results: what you do in this moment shapes all your tomorrows. make it count
Get Results: what you do in this moment shapes all your tomorrows. make it count

 

It helps me to think from a “this moment perspective”. If I eat something fatty it’s not okay, cause I’m sewing the seeds of failure for all my tomorrows. It’s a zero tolerance approach. All we have is this moment, nothing else really exists, so aligning my now with what I want tomorrow is the only way to do it in my eyes and even though it’s early days…it seems to be working for me.

You might find taking a longer term view works best for you – the point is, you do what works for you and the way your mind works by default.

Alternatively you have to break bad habits and destructive thought patterns and replace with more empowering ones. This is harder to do than the previous option, requiring a great deal of “will power” but is greatly rewarding and can certainly be achieved with purpose, determination and perseverance.

The important thing is to get results, and that brings me back onto the purpose of this post, to help you get results, not just in weight loss but whatever you are trying to do.

  1. So you’re here at the beginning – frustrated, disappointed, angry and ready to give up, right?

  2. You want to be there (your goal) – achieving, successful, consistently getting results?

  3. To get from here to there, you need to know:

  • What to do – this is the knowledge bit – What to do, How to do it, When to do it – this is all about doing your research and answering these questions. Find good sources of reliable information, study it and understand it thoroughly. Secondly
  • Do what needs to be done – this is mainly about motivation – doing what needs doing, and not doing what’s counter productive. This is often the hardest part of the equation. Most of us have inner conflicts where we find ourselves wanting to do something that is counter productive to our goal. Using the example I used early where I find myself enjoying eating tasty fatty foods while also wanting to lose weight. I find that changing the way I frame the situation in my mind helps, so focussing on eating well rather than the discomfort of not eating junk (re-framing the issue). Also I would suggest getting yourself an accountability buddy who will hold you to task if you don’t follow through on your plan. I am kind of doing this with you, my audience because if I haven’t lost weight within 12 months of writing this article, than you will know I have failed to practice what I preach, and with that, I’ll lose any credibility on the subject.

Fear is a big de-motivator that can trap you in your current situation and prevent you following your goals. Fear of failure, rejection, disappointment, change, embarrassment, of the unknown can all be dream killers. Often such fears manifest themselves in the excuses we give ourselves for not taking action, procrastination, buying your head in the sand, denial, avoidance, keeping busy doing other things, over-complicating situations, insisting on perfection before taking action, giving up without a fight. Facing fear head on and moving past it, although scary to think about, is often easier to overcome than our imagination would have us believe. Jim Carey said it best “Know the difference between a dog that is going to eat you in your mind, and an actual dog that is going to eat you”.

Use as much help as you can elicit from others especially people who have experience doing what you’re trying to achieve. From a knowledge perspective, consider hiring expertise where appropriate and look towards friends and family for motivation purposes to help keep you on track. Look for tools which will help you succeed with your goal, including things like phone Apps that you will have with you all the time..

Just going back to my plan of losing weight, I came up with the following list of additional things I could use/do to help me in my pursuit, should I need to:

  • Use fitness Apps – to keep me motivated
  • Listen to Audio books – to prevent boredom during repetitive workouts
  • Watch TV while working out doing cardio exercises (treadmill) – aimed to prevent boredom
  • Undertake what I consider to be enjoyable exercises such as bike riding, and 5 a side football with mates to make it more fun
  • Join a club  and exercise with others possible down my local gym
  • Find an accountability buddy or exercise partner
  • Undertake Shorter exercise routines – high intensity in short bursts
  • Remember I don’t have to increase intensity if I’m just wanting to maintain fitness at a certain level
  • Have equipment set up all the time so there’s no time setting up and packing away, or use minimal equipment (ideas for exercises without equipment)
  • Investigate tasty, healthy recipe choices
  • Drink more water to fill stomach – avoid fizzy pop – drink flavoured water if I get fed up of plain water
  • Keep mind occupied to prevent snacking due to boredom in evenings
  • Eat health snacks – fruit or veg instead of crisps and sweets
  • Use recipe apps for healthy eating advice
  • Put X’s on calendar every time I follow plan. Don’t break the row of X’s
  • Read motivational quotes, watch motivational videos to help inspire me

I’ll let you know how I get on…

Get Results Quotes

Check out our Get Results quotes….

Get Results: a little progress each day adds up to big results
Get Results: a little progress each day adds up to big results
Get Results: excuses don't get results
Get Results: excuses don’t get results
Get Results: consistent action creates consistent results
Get Results: consistent action creates consistent results
Get Results: actions get results
Get Results: actions get results
Get Results: “Today you’re one step closer to your goal.”
Get Results: “Today you’re one step closer to your goal.”
Get Results: “Law of Opposites: There is no such thing as an unprofitable situation.”
Get Results: “Law of Opposites: There is no such thing as an unprofitable situation.”
Get Results: “Sometimes what you are most afraid of doing is the one thing that can set you free.”
Get Results: “Sometimes what you are most afraid of doing is the one thing that can set you free.”
Get Results: “The way you do one thing is how you do all things.”
Get Results: “The way you do one thing is how you do all things.”
Get Results: “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
Get Results: “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
Get Results: “FOCUS – Follow One Course Until Successful.”
Get Results: “FOCUS – Follow One Course Until Successful.”
Get Results: “Your strength grows out of your struggles.”
Get Results: “Your strength grows out of your struggles.”
Get Results: “Today: Have I done anything productive or counter-productive towards my goal?”
Get Results: “Today: Have I done anything productive or counter-productive towards my goal?”
Get Results: “To change you life change you daily routine.”
Get Results: “To change you life change you daily routine.”
Get Results: “What you do in this moment shapes all your tomorrows.”
Get Results: “What you do in this moment shapes all your tomorrows.”
Get Results: “Do something today that your future self will thank you for.”
Get Results: “Do something today that your future self will thank you for.”
Get Results: “Action is the key to all success.”
Get Results: “Action is the key to all success.”
Get Results: “I’m getting closer to my goal each day.”
Get Results: “I’m getting closer to my goal each day.”
Get Results: “Don’t think of work as work and play as play, it’s all living.”
Get Results: “Don’t think of work as work and play as play, it’s all living.”
Get Results: “Dreams don’t work unless you do.”
Get Results: “Dreams don’t work unless you do.”
Get Results: “Think less do more.”
Get Results “Think less do more.”

 

FOCUS is key to Success

get results: focus
get results: focus

Focus is key to success, whether for business purposes, or pursuing your personal goals, focus is going to concentrate your energy on the important things that need doing, rather than wasting time on unnecessary activities. Cut to the chase and get what needs doing, done. Think outcomes rather than activities.

Stop being a paper shuffler and be a get results type of person. Below are a few quotes I use to motivate and focus my mind.

#1 Quote

In his book The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results, Gary Keller provides the perfect focusing question:

get results: what's the one thing you can do now such by doing it, everything else will be easier or unneccessary
get results: what’s the one thing

 

“What’s the one thing you can do now such by doing it, everything else will be easier or unnecessary.” – The  one thing.

I just love this question. It removes any ambiguity and channels your focus onto the single, most important activity you can do to make progress. Ask this each day, and when you’ve done the “one thing”, do the next “one thing”. Difficult to know how you can go wrong with this approach.


#2 Quote

Get Results: what you do in this moment
Get Results: what you do in this moment

 

“What you do in this moment shapes all your tomorrows” – getresults.org.uk

This is one quote I generated myself when doing some deep thinking about getting results and developing a model for it. Living for this moment, the one we are experiencing right now, which incidentally is all we ever have. What you do in this moment really does shape what comes tomorrow.


#3 Quote

Get Results: focus
Get Results: focus

 

“Focus on the one most effective thing in pursuit of your goal.” – getresults.org.uk

This is a variation of the quote above, but is a little more specific with regards to being effective in seeking your goal. Building towards a goal each day adds purpose and we all should have and work towards a goal to give life a sense of direction.


#4 Quote

Get Results: do something for your future self
Get Results: do something for your future self

 

“Do something today that your future self will thank you for.” -unknown

This is another one of my favourite quotes. Another way of looking at this is asking “what do I wish I had done yesterday?”


#5 Quote

Get Results:actions have consequences
Get Results:Actions have consequences

 

“The decisions you make and the actions you take shape all your tomorrows.” -getresults.org.uk


#6 Quote

Get Results: focus
Get Results: focus

 

“Focus on one thing at a time – multi tasking is an illusion.” – getresults.org.uk

Studies have shown that it is impossible to multi task effectively. Dividing your focus is dividing your effectiveness. Stick to one course of action until successful, as the quote below says.


#7 Quote

Get Results: focus
Get Results: focus

 

“FOCUS – Follow One Course Until Successful.”


#8 Quote

Get Results: Successful present moment
Get Results: Successful present moment

 

“Don’t let a mad world tell you that success is anything other than a successful present moment.” – Eckhart Tolle


#9 Quote

Get Results: Nothing can be done at any time other than today
Get Results: Nothing can be done at any time other than today

 

“There are only two days in the year that nothing can be done. One is called yesterday and the other is called tomorrow, so today is the right day to love, believe, do and mostly live.” – Dalai Lama


#10 Quote

Get Results: Presence is the only time that really exists
Get Results: Presence is the only time that really exists

 

“Unease, anxiety, tension, stress, worry – all forms of fear – are caused by too much future, and not enough presence. Guilt, regret, resentment, grievances, sadness, bitterness, and all forms of non-forgiveness are caused by too much past, and not enough presence.” – Eckhart Tolle


#11 Quote

Get Results: Only Present
Get Results: Only Present

 

“The future is a concept, it doesn’t exist. There is no such thing as tomorrow. There never will be, because time is always now. That’s one of the things we discover when we stop talking to ourselves and stop thinking. We find there is only present, only an eternal now.”


#12 Quote

Get Results: Truth is where you are
Get Results: Truth is where you are

 

“If you are unable to find the truth right where you are, where else do you expect to find it?”


#13 Quote

Get Results: Present moment
Get Results: Present moment

 

“Most people treat the present moment as if it were an obstacle that they need to overcome. Since the present moment is life itself, it is an insane way to live.” ― Eckhart Tolle


#14 Quote

Get Results: Your future is created by what you do today, not tomorrow
Get Results: Your future is created by what you do today, not tomorrow

“Your future is created by what you do today, not tomorrow.”


#15 Quote

Get Results: this moment and the game of life
Get Results: this moment and the game of life

“The PRESENT MOMENT is the field where the game of life takes place.”

For more articles about FOCUS, click here.


More Focus Quotes

“What the future holds for you depends on your state of consciousness now.” ― Eckhart Tolle

“Nothing ever happened in the past that can prevent you from being present now, and if the past cannot prevent you from being present now, what power does it have?” ― Eckhart Tolle

“When you want to arrive at your goal more than you want to be doing what you are doing, you become stressed.” ― Eckhart Tolle

“You are never fully here because you are always busy trying to get elsewhere.” ― Eckhart Tolle

“Nothing is going to make us free because only the present moment can make us free. That realization is the awakening.” ― Eckhart Tolle

“The present moment is the field on which the game of life happens. It cannot happen anywhere else.” ― Eckhart Tolle

“The most important, the primordial relationship in your life is your relationship with the Now, or rather with whatever form the Now takes, that is to say, what is or what happens.” ― Eckhart Tolle

“Awareness is the power that is concealed within the present moment.” ― Eckhart Tolle

“The past has no power to stop you from being present now. Only your grievance about the past can do that. And what is a grievance? The baggage of old thought and emotion.” ― Eckhart Tolle

“Awareness means Presence, and only Presence can dissolve the unconscious past in you.” ― Eckhart Tolle

“So when you look to the future for salvation, you are unconsciously looking to your own mind for salvation.” ― Eckhart Tolle

We are all guilty of going off at tangents .Chasing that new exciting thing. I have a friend that does property development and he spends every day working on improving his properties and making them more attractive to sell or rent out. He’s focused on this one thing. Each day he adds to his worth via his portfolio. This is the essence of FOCUS.

If I come across any other FOCUS quotes I’ll add them to this post, hope you enjoyed. Please subscribe to my newsletter keep up-to-date with my latest content.

EU referendum: How Intensive Emotions Cloud Decision Making

Get Results:predator of chance rather than a victim of circumstance
Get Results:predator of chance rather than a victim of circumstance

The EU referendum has certainly divided the country, with strong opinions on either side of the argument. And it has been an argument, rather than a debate. From a psychological point of view it’s been a rough ride for both sides.

Politicians and the media have been guilty of constructing their campaigns in such a way as to play to the fears and insecurities of both sides, by using very emotive and divisive language rather than just presenting the facts. Why have they done this? Well because there are no facts, no one really knows if it would be best in or out of the EU. There are opinions about pros and cons on either side of the debate, but not many facts.

It is a gross understatement to say that the general public have been manipulated during this referendum. Politicians and the media recognised the fear of both sides and played heavily on these to influence voter’s decision-making.

Both sides have their own expectations and preferences about the future, which are in opposition. The leavers want to maintain democracy and see the EU as anti-democracy and a symbol of anti sovereign control. Remain campaigners want to remain part of a EU that promises being part of something bigger, making the UK something bigger than they see it as being outside the EU.

The current reality as perceived is also different for each side of the argument. Leavers feel they are having a bad deal, influenced by decision makers that are not directly accountable, see the UK with an elected government that lacks any real power to influence its own economic, immigration and law-making requirements. Remainers’  believe while the current situation isn’t ideal change is better influenced from within the EU rather than being isolated outside it.

The views are certainly in opposition, but you will never get a consensus. In fact it is good that we question each other’s beliefs.  In fact both sides want the same thing, to have an improved quality of life, they just disagree on how best to achieve this.

What is not good, is the way politicians and the media have used emotive and divisive language to intensify the fears of both sides, and position the other side in such a way that they become perceived as the “enemy”

Let’s have look at how it works…..

If you look at how emotion is created, it becomes obvious how politicians and media have been playing us and why we have reacted so aggressively to the opposition, and it has been aggressive, and we do see the other side as “the opposition”, even “enemy”. In fact we are both victims of the same process of emotional and unscrupulous manipulation.

Lets look at the equation of emotion and how it shapes your emotional reactions. The equation of emotion is…

Expectation/Preference (EP) compared to Reality as Perceived (EP) = Emotional Reaction (ER)

When your Expectations and preferences don’t match your perception of reality you will experience a negative emotion. This is a fact.

If the source of this imbalance is not something we are attached to, we will become angry towards it. If we feel the threat to be greater, more real, and imminent, we feel even more angry towards the source. (Find out more about the Equation of Emotion by following this link.)

Let me explain…

Remain campaigners have a  strong belief that:

  • We are better in EU than out because we are part of a bigger trading block rather than being alone, this comes from the belief we are too small to make our way in the world alone
  • We are an open society that welcomes diversity and is outward looking rather than being against immigration and having racist tendencies
  • We are more secure sharing security information within the EU, than being out on our own.
  • We can affect change better within the EU rather than being powerless outside it

The theme for these beliefs is that we are better together rather than alone. The fear of remain campaigners includes, fear of isolation, fear of not being part of the decision making process, but still being subject to the EU rules of trade, the underlying fear is a fear of being worse off, having less money, having less prospects, having less of an open society. It’s a fear of loss.

Remain politicians have played on these fears by using very emotive language and attacking opposing views as beings racist, xenophobic, anti-establishment fuelled, and of being an isolation mentality.

These are so against remain campaigners views that it positions opponents as the “ENEMY”. There is no greater “other” than an enemy.

So let’s go back to our equation from earlier.

Remain campaigners have an expectation/preference that the UK is open, inclusive, part of something bigger, part of the decision making process within the EU,

Their reality as perceived is, we are no longer that kind of country with over half of the nation having racist, xenophobic, anti-establishment tendencies. Seeing themselves as now being materially and prospectively worse off out of EU than they would have been within the EU.

The emotion they feel as a result of this, is anger. Anger directed at leave voters who have been painted implicitly and explicitly as the “enemy” because of their opposing views. The more remainers’ feel this to be true, the stronger their anger towards leavers. The more they believe they will be worse off, the more they believe leavers to be everything they are not, the more of an enemy they see leavers, the more the anger and hate they direct at them.

Leavers have a strong belief that:

  • We are better as a sovereign country rather than giving control to an un-elected EU
  • Want to control UK border rather than having no say in numbers and choice of migrants coming into country
  • Ability to make and enforce our own laws, rather than EU making blanket laws that don’t fit our particular national circumstances
  • Want elected politicians to be accountable and able to be sacked if not doing what the populations wants/needs
  • Don’t want to be pushed into ever closer union with a United States of Europe with un-elected officials making decisions for us, without accountability.

The theme for these beliefs are centred around control and democracy.

Leavers see remainers’ as not standing up for their democratic rights and laying down and letting the establishment take advantage. They feel the quality of life is being eroded by a lack of control and accountability of the politicians that have been elected.

Politicians and media have played on immigration fears, and lack of democracy to strengthen the resistance to these issues. Again they have strengthened their argument with emotive language designed to stir up and intensify these fears.

Leavers expectation and preference is to have accountable government who have control of the important aspects of society, like the economy, border control and law making and enforcement.

Their reality as perceived is that, this is now the case, having won the referendum, but let’s assume they had lost the vote, for illustration purposes. Had they lost they would feel that they had lost control of democracy. That the political elite had been given a mandate to take further power from the sovereign countries. They would be blaming the remain voters for allowing this to happen. They would likely see remainers’ as being gullible, spineless people who have foolishly given democracy away without a fight.

The emotional reaction would have likely also been anger. This anger would be directed at those seen as responsible for this unacceptable situation, the remain campaigners.

The truth is, that the exact same internal process is going on in the remain voters as is in the leave voters. Both sides have opposing views but both are doing it because they feel it is right for them and the wider community. They are both doing it from a position of “good will”. Both feel passionately about their views and see opposing views as misguided, ill informed, and the victim of propaganda. The emotion has been intensified by manipulative politicians and the media, who are trying to influence voters’ decision-making, by preying on voters fears and insecurities and over-blowing the consequences of either decision.

The truth is, staying or leaving isn’t as bad as either side believes it to be, and that  the politicians and media have been stirring up emotion to serve their own agendas, and voters have been caught up in the intense emotion of it all. We would have survived had we stayed in, we will survive now that we are out.

Try to stop feeling angry and realise that love and caring is driving both sides of the debate. Now is the time to put our differences aside and focus on creating a new and improved Great Britain for the good of us all.

Lessons To Learn From The EU Referendum

Get Results:Britain great again
Get Results:Britain great again

A few lessons to learn from the recent EU referendum…..

This morning Britain voted to leave the EU and the reaction of the stock markets was as could be expected, resulting in a lot of turmoil and rush to safety. Much of the political reaction was also based on fear and the prospect of an uncertain future for the country.

Always winners and losers (in every situation)

In reality there will always be winners and losers in any given situation. If we had remained in the EU there were no guarantees about what the future held. Hoping to protect the status quo is a nonsense, there is no such things as a status quo, things are always changing and evolving, whether we like to admit it or not.

When the price of sterling dropped like a stone this morning when the markets opened, had you bought a currency trade and sold it just after the bank of England speech a few hours later, you could have made yourself a lot of money.  And so it is with every situation, there will always be winners and losers. It’s not really about what happens to you, It’s about how you deal with it. Change brings opportunities as well as risks. You can either position yourself in such a way as to take advantage of those opportunities or play the role of victim, and lose.

Get Results:predator of chance rather than a victim of circumstance
Get Results:predator of chance rather than a victim of circumstance

Change includes risk and opportunity

Emotion makes decision making much more subjective and fearful, if you can separate emotion, and emotive language from the facts, you give yourself a chance of making a rational decision. When we hold a strong emotional position, we may refuse to shift our opinion or back down to any opposing views and counter arguments. In truth, it’s not about being right or being wronged it’s about moving forward and making the best use of the opportunities that are inevitably available because of the very thing we fear…change.

We’re different: embrace the fact

Holding a strong opinion doesn’t make you right or wrong. Some people like to feel they have some control over their destiny, others like the sense of comfort and security. There are leaders and followers, risk takers and play safer’s and all have a valid place in society. They value different things and have different perspectives, and make decisions based on what they feel is right for them and their families. Accept this as part of life’s rich tapestry, don’t judge or ridcule others, respect their views, sure give them your opinion by all means, but know they are entitled to hold theirs.

Anger grows out of fear

When things apparently move against us and our perception is that the outcome is going to be bad for us, we may feel threatened and fearful. In an attempt at self protection, anger may result and be directed at whatever is deemed responsible for causing that fear. “Remain” campaigners saying “leave” campaigners are ignorant of the facts, have been brainwashed, are responsible for this mess, and have low IQ’s etc are attempts to make themselves feel better and increase their self worth. Discrediting others, is a defence mechanism, that inflates their sense of self. However a question we should all be asking is why do people feel such fear in the first place?

Follow your own agenda

During the EU referendum a lot of emotive language and stories of doom and gloom have been used by politicians and media on both sides of the debate, often designed to manipulate the audience into responding in a way that serves agendas of the politicians and media. It creates division and builds strong emotion, clouding the facts and making rational decision making more difficult. It builds on our fears and when we are fearful, we have a tendency to resist change even more than we would otherwise. Try to separate the emotion, and make rational decisions based on facts, don’t be a pawn in somebody else’s game, play for yourself. And even if you feel you are acting in your own best interests, ask yourself, based on what facts, not opinion or prediction, but facts.

The EU referendum has been one of those monumental moments in history. The future is uncertain, and either exciting or scary depending on your perspective. It is unprecedented in history so we will have to wait and see how it pans out.

I guess we will make it work, we always do. It’s in everyone’s interest for it to be a success. When there’s no alternative we can focus on making the one option we have work for the good of all us all as stakeholders.

.

 

Taking Action is key to Getting Results

Get Results: take right action
Get Results: take right action

Taking Action is the single most important aspect of getting results. Without this part of the equation nothing is realistically possible. It’s true that you need a goal, a sense of direction to work towards, but you can plan your path to your hearts content, but if you don’t then take action, all that planning isn’t going to materialise into your reality.

We have all been guilty of procrastinating, this often manifests as over-planning. keeping busy devising a goal, and perfecting a plan of action, then tweaking and re-tweaking.

Get Results: Doing is the greatest teacher
Get Results: Doing is the greatest teacher

Ultimately it’s prudent to have a goal, fashion a plan that can best be described as a “minimum viable outline plan”. Something that gives you a sense of direction, so that you’re not floating around aimlessly but allows you to retain some level of flexibility going forward.

You should progress with a open mind and open heart, and learn from your experience moving forward.

Successful software developers have long since understood the value of producing a minimum viable product, getting it out in the market, and enhancing it via feedback from customers. That way the market helps in the development process in a real world environment for which it was intended. This approach prevents wasted time developing and realising later it has been overdeveloped or developed in the wrong aspects. Letting the end user decide what they want makes sense commercially. Think of it as a collaboration between developer and customer.

And so it should be as you move forwards towards your goal, let the real world give you feedback as you progress. You take action and the world around you reacts in all sorts of unforeseen ways. Whether it be serendipitous encounters with influential individuals, or insights you could never of expected had you not taken action.

Purposeful right action is an even better way to describe it, because you are working towards something, you measure your progress or lack of, tweak and test as you go. Think of it as if you were learning a skill, lets take driving for instance, your instructor watches what you do, informs you when doing something wrong, watches you do it again, corrects if necessary or lets you know you’ve completed the manoeuvre correctly.

It’s true to say that some people are more naturally talented then others, they have physical attributes that might make it easier for them to be successful, but natural talent is just a head start, whether or not you are naturally talented there is no doubt that taking action or practice has it’s also known improves performance.

The 10 thousand hour rule is routinely quoted  as being the time it takes to become an expert in most endeavours, a 20 hour rule is also quoted as being the time it take to become proficient at something. The fact is the more you purposely practice or “do” something the better you will get at it.

Ask the focus question as a compass

A good way of focusing your actions so that you don’t waste time doing none important tasks and as a result make sure you’re taking “right” action at all times is to ask this question…

“What’s the one thing you can do now such by doing it, everything else will easier or unnecessary?”

get results: what's the one thing you can do now such by doing it, everything else will be easier or unneccessary
get results: what’s the one thing

It’s a great question for bringing some perspective to each situation you find yourself in, using like you would a compass, when you feel lost or confused about what needs doing next.

Mini-goals

Another way of ensuring the action you take today is moving you towards your goal is setting up mini-goals, that line up with one another like a pathway to your end goal. for instance have weekly goals that that leads towards achieving a monthly goal, that leads to a 6 monthly goal, that leads to a yearly goal that leads towards a 3 year goal and so on. Line each mini-goal up like you would when domino toppling, knock your weekly goals down and that automatically knocks the monthly goal down and so on.

Summary

So TAKING ACTION is an essential step in achieving any goal, it is probably the most important step, but taking action without direction and purpose is rather like floating at sea without a rudder. Have a goal and take action towards that goal. Have an outline plan but know that you should allow some flexibility as you go. Keep focus by asking the focus question, and use mini goals to keep you heading in the right direction. oh yes and enjoy the journey. Life is a journey, it isn’t a destination after all.

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The Basics of Selling

Get Results: components of buying
Get Results: components of buying

We as humans are constantly driven to avoid pain and as part of that drive we strive to “be” more. Western society has conditioned us to believe the more we “have”, the more we will be. So to that end, we constantly operate in accumulation mode. We love to buy stuff and businesses love to sell us stuff. At the heart of our desire to buy is this simple statement.

“If you believe there’s a BENEFIT in a SOLUTION, and you VALUE that benefit enough, and TRUST the SELLER you’re going to buy it.”

Think about the statement from your perspective, is it right for you, well it’s certainly right for me. So from a selling point of view, if we reverse engineer this and align it from a selling perspective we find the following:

  1. Sellers should provide a SOLUTION that addresses customer problems or wants
  2. Sellers should ensure they communicate a VALUED BENEFIT taken from the customers perspective, with regards to a SOLUTION
  3. Demonstrate you are a TRUSTWORTHY SELLER and able to deliver on your promise

So let’s look at each in a little more detail.

Get Results: components of buying
Get Results: components of buying

1.Sellers should provide a SOLUTION that addresses customer problems or wants

“SOLUTION” refers to the product or service you are wanting to sell. It should provide a solution to a problem or want that your prospective customer has, if it doesn’t do this than it serves no use.

You can either create a SOLUTION to a problem or want that you personally have, or that you know other people have. Do some further research to establish how wide spread the problem or want is before investing lots of time in developing your SOLUTION.

Alternatively you can create a product or service and see if it provides a SOLUTION to a problem or want afterwards, although this does happen, I wouldn’t recommend it.

2.Sellers should ensure they communicate a VALUED BENEFIT taken from the customers perspective, with regards to a SOLUTION

So when you have a SOLUTION to a known problem or want, the next thing  you need to do is market the VALUED BENEFITS  of that SOLUTION to prospective customers. Write down all the reasons you think your customer would benefit from using the SOLUTION in order of importance starting with the most important aspects to least important. Now it’s important to be empathetic with your customers situation and point of view, otherwise you won’t get this right. It’s not what you think your customers “should” want or what you “think” is a problem, it’s what “is” a problem, it’s what “is” a want.

I would also list the objections your customers are likely to have and try to put a positive spin on these, because you will inevitably have to address them at some point in the buying process. You might have to work from a best “guess basis” to start but do as much research as possible going forward. The more you know your customers’ the better you can address their actual situations.

3.Demonstrate you are a TRUSTWORTHY SELLER and able to deliver on your promise

If you can’t provide some way of proving you are a TRUSTWORTHY SELLER you are going to have an uphill struggle on your hands, particularly if you’re selling remotely as with a website store.

Genuine reviews and testimonials are a good way of establishing trust, social media presence and positive interaction is another. Having a physical location helps people to know you are a genuine business, rather than a rogue scammer. If you’re new to business, give a sample of your product to people in exchange for some honest reviews and testimonials, just to get you started. Without trust people aren’t going to risk their cash with you.

This is a short post and covers the very basics of selling, but I believe all businesses should be working from a solid base, so it’s an article that needs to be written, because I see so many websites not paying attention to these basic principles.

Top 17 Gary Vaynerchuk Principles to Improve your Business Performance

Get Results: Gary Vaynerchuk quotes love customers first
Get Results: Gary Vaynerchuk quotes love customers first

Gary Vaynerchuk is described as a “thought leader” and “social media guru”, neither of which he particularly likes. He sees himself as a business builder first and foremost having built a $60 million wine business using the internet and subsequently a $100 million social media company. A lot of what Gary says isn’t new but he frames it in a no nonsense, high energy way, that engages business leaders and entrepreneurs alike. His messages cut to the bone, are frank, honest and on point. He builds his personal brand around giving value, so I thought we should include some of his messages for you to take insight from….

  1. Ideas are s**t, execution is the game – we can all come up with ideas, but ideas mean nothing without taking effective action that delivers results. Execution comes down to talent. Not everyone is talented enough to execute effectively. This feeds directly into the next point
  2. Improve Self Awareness -know what you’re good at and not good at. Face the truth and make progress from that perspective. Get help doing the things you can’t do and concentrate on what you are good at.
  3. Bet on your strengths -Double down on them and punt your weaknesses. To be extraordinary, you have to be an anomaly. You ain’t gonna do that if you spend time bringing your weaknesses up-to-speed. You lean towards doing some things over others for a reason. When you’re good at something, it’s usually because you like doing it, and have tended to do it a lot, so it makes sense to keep doing it even more. The opposite is true of the things you don’t like to do. Make your expertise narrow and deep, rather than wide and shallow, stay in your lane, and delegate everything else if you can.
  4. Bring perspective to your business -When the going gets hard, instead of fixating on the negatives, be grateful for what you have and realise things could be much worse. Gary imagines getting a call saying his mother has passed away, he says that although this is a dark thought, it grounds his reality and adds much needed perspective to the situation.
  5. Work your ass off – If you’re in a job but want to be an entrepreneur, grind 5pm-2am to build something for yourself in your off time and, “Stop watching episodes of Breaking Bad” says Gary. If you work 9 hours a day, sleep 6 hours that leave you 9 hours a day to grind and hustle.

    Get Results: hustle and execution
    Get Results: hustle and execution
  6. Stick to your DNA – Be true to yourself, be authentic, it’s what makes you, you and separates you from everyone else. It’s okay to admire others, but don’t try to copy who they are, be the best version of yourself.
  7. Do what matters – Don’t get hung up on unimportant tasks. Micro manage or delegate, you decide. Most things don’t matter. Focus on what matters. Take right action.
  8. Stop making excuses – Lack of time or capital are just two obstacles amongst many others that you will inevitably have to overcome but don’t use them as excuses not to do something. Lack of optimism is the major problem. Overcome the inevitable obstacles. “Lack of ……” are just excuses. There are a million reasons “why not” but just one reason “why” which is you gotta persevere and get on with it. Take responsibility.
  9. Care for your Customers – run your business with your heart as well as your head. introduce “random acts of kindness” for loyal customers not just when they are leaving you. Find a way to go “the extra mile” at scale
  10. Learn what motivates your customers – Understand what makes people tick and reverse engineering that so you can add value to them. Be empathetic, and really give a s**t. The customer is not always right but they are always the customer. If you want to take their money, you have to get out of the way, and do what’s necessary to close the deal, put pride to one side. It’s how you make them FEEL that they’ll remember you for. Technology lubricates word of mouth, and customer service is key to creating an experience that will be talked about.
  11. Find where your customers attention is focused – Understand where your customers can be found. Attention is much more focused on mobile phones and particularly on social media through mobile. If you want to get your brand in front of those customers you’ve got to meet them were their attention is. Stop holding onto what worked yesterday, and realign to what is happening in the world today. Get out of your own way, stop resisting and move with the times. Two questions to ask yourself, “Where are your prospects focusing their attention?” “Are you engaging or telling stories to them there?”
  12. Be open to change – Roll with the punches. Don’t try to hold ground. Don’t resist what is. Don’t fear change, embrace uncertainty, evolve, and go with the flow. When you try to resist the way things are, you hurt your business. Market in the present day not yesterday. Things are moving fast, keep up, or get left in the dust.
  13. Be a student of behaviour – This point builds on the previous three. Study behaviour and react to it. Today people are spending huge amounts of time on social media, via their phones, however this is very likely to change in the future as a result of technology advancements, so you need to keep observing and reacting to how the market evolves as a result of these future changes. You don’t have to have a defined plan of attack other than “observing and reacting to what’s happening in the market.”
  14. You must have TALENT – Do you have the talent to be successful, either by being funny, clever, creative, good at DOING something of value, KNOWING something of value, CONNECTING people. It’s the variable that either makes you and your content interesting or not. For instance, you can get away with a drab setting for your videos, if the content is valuable enough to the audience. Deliver something of value using your talent.
  15. Use storytelling in your Marketing – if you understand what the consumer wants, you can then back track to get them emotionally there using story. When done properly it is an invisible influencer. We’re wired to tell and listen to stories. Stories lower our emotional barriers and allow ideas to enter our subconscious.
  16. Embrace your uniqueness – Technology will inevitably take out the B, C, D players in many industries and niches, because they have commoditised themselves, but the “A” players will grow and take B, C, D’s market share. So concentrate on growing your brand. Be authentic, be genuine and don’t try to fit in, or blend into the background, or copy what others are doing, otherwise you will become a commodity (same as everyone else). Ask what makes you different? What makes you, you? Dare be noticed, and stand out.

    Get Results: Branding
    Get Results: Branding
  17. Nothing happens overnight – It takes lots of work, talent, luck, and serendipity. to be “an overnight success”. Put yourself in the best position to succeed and take a long term view if you can, rather than looking for quick wins. Think Branding over “transaction marketing” for instance.

Hope you enjoyed this article, please check out my Ultimate Guides relating to Health, Wealth and Wellness.

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The Opposing Forces of Motivation

Get Results: opposing motivations
Get Results: opposing motivations

Motivation lies at the heart of getting results. Without it you can’t get anything done. However motivation is made up of opposing forces, which makes progress more difficult than it otherwise would be. Let’s first look at the forces that help us move closer to our goals these forces are made up of internal and external supporting motivations.

Internal Supporting Motivations

Become Self Awareness

Self awareness is a key aspect of motivation, simply because it allows you to know why you do and don’t do certain things. If you can hack your subconscious and align your goals in such a way that they fit in with “who you are”, then the journey to achieving them will be a much easier one. This article is designed to allow you to discover and question what is going on inside your head, and force you to take a deeper look at what is helping you and more importantly. hindering you making progress towards your goals.

Take Responsibility

It is so important that you take responsibility for your results. Stop blaming your situation, your living arrangements, your job, stop blaming other people around you, like your spouse, your boss. When you pass blame to someone or something else, you also pass power, the very power you need to do something about it.

When you take responsibility, you empower yourself to find a solution and take action. It is a huge mental shift in the way you approach situations. You become a problem solver instead of a just a problem spotter. You access the creative part of your brain, rather than being in “wait and see what happens” mode, hoping for someone else to sort it out for you.

Tap into your Purpose

If you have purpose, a strong reason why you want or even need your goal, and you desire that goal so much, taking action is going to be that much easier. If you’re about to lose your home because  you can’t make your next mortgage payment, you’re more likely to take that shitty job, than you would if you had a years worth of savings in your bank account. What’s changed, your purpose has. You suddenly have to do something, you have to earn some money or else. This might not be an aspirational purpose like “bringing an end to poverty” or “finding a cure for cancer” but it is a purpose, the purpose of getting money to pay your bills, so you still have a roof over your family’s head. If that purpose is strong, or as desperate enough (as in the case of the previous  example) you are more likely to take action, that you might not otherwise have taken. Purpose doesn’t have to be some romanticised great deed, it just has to work for you, and get you closer to your goals.

Form good habits

Habits are formed to ease the burden on thought processes. We don’t have to mentally process every little thing we do, especially with regards to things we do on a regular basis. We form habits that we just do, without thinking about. This frees our brains to concentrate on other things.

As part of this process we often form bad habits that no longer serve us. The best way of getting rid of bad habits is by replacing them with good ones. To do this you have to begin to take action on a regular basis and do something that serves your goals. If  you want to be a writer, start to write 200-300 words a day. Do this everyday for 30-60 days, after which you will have formed a habit of doing it. Then up the word count by a further 200. when you have done that everyday for a month or so, up it again.

Embrace Change and risk taking

One of the main reasons we fail to take action, is fear, we will deal with fear later in the article when discussing blocking motivations, you might want to read that part of the article first and come back to this section.

“Embracing change” and “risk taking” are the same thing. We resist change because we fear the uncertainty that “change” brings with it. Embracing change is a difficult mind shift, but an essential one, if we’re to grow into our goals.

Many people falsely believe there exists a status quo, some fictional place where everything stays  the same forever. The reality of course is that everything is always changing, and change is part of life. Life and change are inseparable, so face the truth, and stop resisting it. Be excited by the opportunities that come about because of it.

Risk is also a part of life, we risk death every time we walk out the door, every time we get into the car. We risk embarrassment every time we open our mouths, we risk loss of possessions every time we leave the house empty, or every time we put something in our pocket or bag when we go out.  We can try to mitigate risk but we can’t live without being exposed to it.

Live with Gratitude

I’ve included gratitude here because, gratitude adds some perspective to our thoughts. If we are grateful for what we have now, our health, our family and friends, our ability to reason, and make decisions, our ability to communicate and get on with other people, if we are grateful for everything we have, we don’t need to take the attainment of our goals too seriously, so that the fear of not attaining them, paralyses us from reaching optimal performance. We want to achieve our goals but not so badly that not achieving them means we drop into a great depression. Make life a game to be enjoyed, not one that feels like life or death depends on your success, because in most cases it really doesn’t.

External supporting motivations

External supporting motivations come from things we get from other people rather than from within us.

Incentives

Incentives can be tangible and intangible. Tangible incentives can include money rewards, a chance of winning something like a holiday or prize. Tangible incentives are used to reward us for outstanding performance at work for instance.

Intangible incentives on the other hand are things like getting a pat-on-the-back, or a “well done”, a “thank you for your effort” from someone we respect or have done something for.

Incentives push us to behave in a certain way usually for the benefit of others, but we can use them to help us get results for ourselves. An accountability buddy for instance can spur us on, say “well done” when we do something good, and at the same time put us right when we fail to do it or do something that is counter-productive to our goal attainment.

Internal Blocking Motivations

Fear of ….

Well fear has such a grip on the human psyche, that it stops the majority of people ever pursuing their dreams. Fear is a perceived possible future devaluation of our sense of self, which simply means that we fear the thought of something that “might” happen to us or to things, people or ideas that are important to us.  We fear death, embarrassment, rejection, being negatively judged by others, disappointment, being vulnerable, loss, poverty, the unknown, uncertainty, change, being let down by others, some people even fear success. In fact we fear most things. Fear is a thought about the future, and as we can’t do anything about the future, until it becomes “this moment”. Fear is nothing more than a made up thought or series of thoughts that might happen, but is much more likely not to happen. Stop focusing on what might go wrong and start dreaming about what might go right.

Limiting Beliefs and Values

We’ve all heard the stories of kids that were told they wouldn’t amount to anything, only to go on to become big successes. These people felt they had something to prove, and this motivated them to succeed, but for many, negative reinforcement can kill their motivation, and keep them trapped in mediocrity.

Social conditioning -the environment where we grow up, the people we are surrounded by, the stories we are told has a big impact on how our beliefs and values are formed through childhood and as teenagers, and these values have a major impact on our lives as adults. As the saying goes “If you believe you can or you can’t, you’re right”, the question is where did this belief come from?

Our thoughts are formed by our experiences which are shaped by our actions, reactions, and behaviours which are affected by our thoughts. It’s a cycle that feeds itself. It can be a virtuous cycle or downward spiral. If you can feed your psyche with positive thoughts, beliefs and values, this will positively affect your actions and behaviours, and this will in turn dictate the quality of your experiences and the way people react to you, for the better.

Conflicted Thoughts

If you feel conflicted about your goals you may feel you want them on the one hand, but also feel in some way you don’t want them. When you feel this way, you might sabotage your progress. you might want to be wealthy, but at the same time feel it will ruin important relationships you have presently, and this dampens your motivation to take action to pursue your goal.

Another type of conflict comes in the form of  “want” versus “should” situations. If you have a goal to be thinner, and healthier, but you see a delicious looking cream cake that you really want to eat, you are going to feel torn between “wanting” the pleasure of eating the cream cake and knowing that you “should” reframe from doing so, if you are to achieve your weight loss goal. If you give in and eat the cream cake you are not just failing to moving closer to your goal, but are in-fact moving further away from it, which is likely to make you feel even worse. “Wanting”, more often than not outweighs “should” as a mental choice calculation. This is why we so often give in to temptation. The best way to overcome this is avoid situations that present such a choice in the first place. If there is no cream cake waiting for you in the fridge, you aren’t going to feel you are missing out on it.

Moving forward

Overcoming the blocking motivations by strengthening the supporting motivations is the name of the game. If we can have stronger supporting motivations and hack our blocking motivations we stand a better chance of progressing towards our goals.

Become more self aware, take responsibility, have a strong purpose, replace bad habits with good ones, embrace change and risk, be happy and grateful with the positives in your life today, get help from others and get them to reward you for good behaviour. Be less fearful of your imagination, lose those limiting beliefs and straighten out your conflicted thoughts about your goals. Do this and success is your next destination.

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