Archive for November, 2007

I love blogging. It opens the door to new ideas and provides an interactive channel to the world. People like yourself, stop by and read what I’ve written. Sometime you might leave a comment and the conversation becomes interactive. I want to say thank you for sticking with me for the past two and a half years. It has been a great adventure.

But where do we go from here?

My friends ask me all the time… how do you come up with new things to write about? How do you keep going?

The answer for me is an easy one… the more I blog… the more ideas that come along.

I love to create new things. It might be a post, a free download, or a new logo, or graphic.

As a creative person, my passion is in the idea stage. I love to put the pieces together, move them around until they look just right, and then put them out to the world.

Sometimes they bomb… they crash and burn.

But sometimes they bring a smile to someone else and once in a great while they sprout wings and fly.

Sometimes they plant a seed that doesn’t sprout for years.

Ideas are wonderful!

But I have a problem with ideas. I can’t control when they come. When I try to force them, things can become tedious and sometimes they can be downright frustrating.

When I say to myself… John, set aside every Monday to write about ___blank___, I almost always find myself frustrated.

All of a sudden I’ve gone from I want to to I have to.

This to me is the creative curse.

Yet in blogging or most other forms of writing, organization is key.

As a reader you expect a certain flow of ideas. You expect a beginning, a body, and a conclusion. You expect blog posts to be organized by category or topic. You expect to find what you came for… quickly and easily… or you click away in just a few seconds.

As I look to the new year, I have a lot of ideas for posts. I can easily organize them in my mind.

I might say I will blog three days a week in January about PowerPoint. In February I’ll blog about using Excel for organization… in March I’ll blog about flowcharts.

It’s so easy to organize them in my mind…. yet it’s so hard to keep up the posts day after day.

When I have to do something, especially something that is structured in a strict manner, my creativity wanes.

So what is the answer?

I’m not sure… but I have some ideas I want to try.

1. Build up blog posts and post them in the future. This will allow me to write posts as the ideas flow, but upload them in an organized manner that will make more sense to the reader.

2. Write two or more posts in the same day. Once the creative ideas are flowing… just keep going. This may require weekends or evenings, but may be the answer I’m looking for.

3. Work with a Mastermind group to get fresh ideas and get the creativity going. This might have great potential.

I would love to hear your ideas about creativity. How do you get your ideas? How do you stay motivated? What techniques work for you?

Here is to a creative 2008!

Technorati Tags: creativity, organization

I am a big fan of the Five Factor Fitness program by Harley Pasternak. This little book outlines a fitness program that almost anyone can do in 25 minutes per day. This book provides a combination of Aerobic exercise along with weight training in a twenty five minute, interval style workout.

The book provides pictures and diagrams of the exercises and the routines are broken down into 5 minute phases. While I have enjoyed the program, it can get a little complicated at times, and you need to have the book along to follow the routine.

With my hectic schedule I have found that some days I don’t have a 25 minute block of time to exercise. I want to get the benefits, but I have needed a way to break things up. What has worked for me is to create some handy cards with simple exercises that I can do without any equipment. I put a different exercise on each card and put down a number of repetitions that would correspond to a 5 minute interval.

I carry the cards along in my pocket and do the exercises during the day.

Here is an example of how I have used them…

In the morning, I may have a free 15 minute period. I shuffle the cards, turn them upside down, and pick one at a time. The first one turns out to be 50 jumping jacks. I do the exercise and then pick another card. This one is 15 push ups. I do the push ups and then pick a final card. This one is running in place for five minutes. I glance at the clock and do the running for 5 minutes. When I’m done, I have had a great little workout to get the blood flowing, with the added benefit of drawing a random card to make things interesting.

Later in the day at work, I may have a few minutes to spare. I grab the 5 minutes on the stairs card, and run up and down the stairs for 5 minutes. When I’m done, I put this on the bottom of the stack. When I get home at the end of the day I may grab another couple of cards after dinner and work off a few calories with some sit ups and leg lifts.

These cards are simple, fast and fun. They are easily printed out on business card stock in under 5 minutes. They can easily be modified with repetitions and exercises that work for you. They make a great addition to a structured fitness program, when you are limited for time or on the go. As always, be sure to check with your doctor before starting any type of fitness or exercise program.

Instructions for use:

• Download the Five Minute Fitness Template for MS Word
• Open the template(s) and modify as necessary
• Print out on Avery Business Card Stock (10 Card)
• Break cards apart
• For portability, stack cards in order and clip together with mini clip
• Transport easily in pocket or purse
• Keep in a quick access location like a desk drawer or file cabinet
• Optional: Add info cards to your Walleteer organizer

Technorati Tags: fitness, exercise

In our final look at the book Becoming a Person of Influence by John Maxwell, I would like to look at the last two chapters. Chapter 9 is entitled empowering people and chapter 10 is reproducing other influencers. John lists four qualifications of an empowerer. They are…

1. Position

2. Relationship

3. Respect

4. Commitment

To empower people you must be in a position of leadership. Others can encourage, but permission comes only from an authority figure such as a parent, boss, or spiritual leader. To empower people you have to be in a position of power over them.

To engage people to  help them reach their potential you need to evaluate them on their knowledge, skill, and desire. When you know where they are, you can model for them a direction to excel in. Using the analogy of a mother bird and her babies, people need to know what it looks like to fly. As a mentor, you have the best opportunity to show them.

Model the flight and work ethic you would like them to embrace. Expect people to succeed! Be sure to verbalize it and reinforce it. Once people understand that you genuinely want them to succeed, they will begin to believe that they can accomplish what you want them to do.

Once they are ready to proceed, transfer authority to them. That includes sharing both your authority and influence with the people you are mentoring and developing. When you begin to empower other people, give them challenges you know they can rise to. This will help them be confident and give them a chance to experience their new authority and learn to use it more effectively.

Once they have taken the reins and they have shown you their ability to complete the task, publicly show your confidence in them. Give them the credit for a job well done. Be sure to give them positive feedback. Don’t dwell on the negative and be sure to include constructive ideas along the way.

Once they have taken flight, release them to continue in their own. Give them as much freedom as possible. In conclusion give authority, responsibility, and offer needed assistance along the way.

John makes the point that the benefits of empowerment are very high. Empowerment helps people become more confident, energetic, and productive. It also has the ability to improve your life, giving you additional freedom to promote the growth of your organization.

One of the most incredible stories of empowerment that I have witnessed is the story of Kathy Gaulton. Kathy worked in the business world for over 30 years in retail management. In 1998 she took a short term missions trip to Tanzania, Africa, where she witnessed poverty and a community of people who desperately needed help.

Kathy had the idea of having the local people make drawstring bags from local fabrics. She took 5 treadle sewing machines which were idle and gave the local people training on them. Soon the machines were whirring away and within two days there were 300 completed bags that could be sold.

The people were really excited and Kathy realized how far a little training and some local materials could go to empower the local people to become self sufficient. Through this simple beginning came Heavenly Treasures, an organization that empowers impoverished people and communities all over the world to break the cycle of poverty through micro enterprises.

From the Kip Karen Krafters in Kenya to the Dorcas Design Team in China, Kathy’s seeds have sprouted in a big way. Amazing products are being turned out by the thousands and people’s lives are being changed.

These livelihood projects help reproduce other influencers. Once people become self sufficient they can teach other people the same skills. Soon the more skilled workers become leaders and the process repeats itself. Some of these onsite leaders have gone on to create new enterprises in other areas of the world.

Organizations like Toastmasters and Rotary International can help you learn the skill of empowerment. In Toastmasters it is not uncommon to see amazing transformations. All it takes is a caring person with a vision along with an unselfish passion to help others succeed.

I’ve been in a public speaking organization called Toastmasters for years. During this time, I have been a part of many Toastmasters clubs and have seen many people come and go. With all of the great things Toastmasters offers… speaking skills, leadership training, and a great networking atmosphere, I have always wondered why some people come to a few meetings and then you never see them again.

In studying John Maxwell’s book, Becoming a Person of Influence, I have discovered that we need to dig a little under the surface to truly understand people.

One of the things John brings up in his book is that…

Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care.

This is so true with almost any club or organization. If people come to a meeting and no one talks to them, they are probably not going to return. If their first experience is one that excludes them rather than including them, they probably will feel that they don’t fit in and will find it awfully hard to come back.

John brings up four questions in his book that can help us get to know new people whether they be visitors, new employees, or the new client you met at Starbucks.

When we ask them…

1. Where did they come from?
2. Where do they want to go?
3. What is their need now?
4. How can I help?

We will get a much better picture of how we can include them in our club, our workplace, or most importantly… our lives.

When we take the time to really focus on the other persons needs, their lives and ours can truly change.