Mark S. Brown – Page 31

Are You Feeling Overwhelmed with Your Goals?

At the beginning of the year many people set goals, and then quickly give up because of the overwhelming challenge they have given themselves.

If you find yourself in this position, don’t panic. Don’t give up. Evaluate these ideas and then set yourself on a path for success.

1. Don’t compromise. As soon as you hit a barrier, a complication, or a challenge, it may become tempting to change your goal… don’t. The fact is you won’t achieve your goal without overcoming obstacles. Do you really want to compromise your dream?

2. Be persistent. Achieving your goals requires work, not luck. It is about making progress every single day. Achieve small wins that accumulate to bigger achievements. Take action. If you are sitting on the sideline and waiting for something to happen, you may be waiting for a long time. Action creates opportunity.

3. Find inspiration. Why do you want to achieve your goal? Who inspires you to achieve it? Where are you getting support? Find energy in the reasons you want to achieve your goals.

4. Celebrate wins. Celebrate when you make progress. Reward yourself, and renew your challenge to finish. Enjoy your progress and then get back to work.

I hope you are not stuck so early in 2016, but if you are, think through your goals, and these ideas. What can help you get back on track? Reach out for the help you need. Let’s achieve those big goals and dreams we have for 2016.

Do Your Goals Include Money?

You have probably heard the quote, “Money is the root of all evil.” Yet, money is a requirement to live from day to day. If you have created a list of goals for 2016, at least one probably concerns money. Does that make you evil?

For 99.9% of us, more money is better, and not evil. Money is just a tool to simplify transactions. Evil comes from greed, abuse, or misuse.

How can we embrace more, and not be tempted by greed? I think it is simply using money for the good of others. I made a list of things that money provides me. Here is my list, how would yours be different? For me, money provides security, comfort, motivation, generosity, and the fulfillment of dreams.

I have created a financial goal for 2016. I hope you have as well. I view my goal as good. It is not about the amount, but about what I can do based on my results. It is not just about my family. It is about the world that I can influence and touch.

I encourage you to review your goals. Set your target higher. Dream bigger. Earn more money. It is not evil. It is a tool for you to help others. I wish you a great, prosperous, and generous 2016.

The Secret of Building Character

Today I was thinking about my plans for 2016. I wrote a few weeks ago about setting goals based on becoming a better person. I wanted to shift my focus beyond just objectives. As a coach, I work with people to help them close the gap between what they know and what they do. But when we look to build character, we can think about three stages.

1. What you know. To grow yourself, you have to invest in yourself. Knowledge can come from many different perspectives. It is not just books and classes, knowledge also comes from experiences and the people with whom we spend time.

2. What you do. This is where we put into action what we have learned. Everyone can use help with this stage. We grow ourselves through doing, failing, learning, and finally success. Growth is facilitated by stepping out of your comfort zone, and then overcoming the failures you encounter.

3. Who you are. Our knowledge, experiences, and actions are the basis for how we develop our values in life. It is self awareness that allows us to grow in our values and know how they fit in the world.

These three stages are important to think, especially as we encounter failure. Failing due to a lack of knowledge should not be a huge concern. We can never know everything, so these types of failures will happen. A lack of knowledge can also be easily corrected.

Failing by not doing what we know we should do is also typical. I think it is a human condition to always intend to do more than we can really do. This gap is what drives our performance. But again failing here will happen.

Failing the third stage should be our major concern. When we are unable to live our values, or lack the awareness to recognize how values should define us, we have truly failed. If we really want to grow our character and become a better person, then we need to know and stay true to our values.

With this perspective, I am still working my plan for 2016. The question that is at the top of my mind is, “How can I better understand, and function based on my values?”

How are you doing with developing your 2016 plan?

How to Embrace Generosity

Are you generous? That is a tough question because there is no standard formula for generosity. What standard do you compare yourself with? We are probably not as generous as Mother Teresa. But maybe we can consider ourselves more generous than many of the corporate and business leaders that we know.

I would like to be more generous. I would imagine that you would also. How can we embrace being more generous? When we look at all the demands and responsibilities in our lives, is it possible to give more? I think so. Especially if I expand my thinking about generosity.

Earn more to give more. In the last few years I have learned that the more I give, the more I am rewarded with new opportunities. I had to stop telling myself that I would give more when I earned more. Instead I had to give more, which gave me the proper attitude about earning more.
Value my time more than money. Generosity is not just about money. It is about giving your time to people that need it. My time is more valuable than money, so I began to use it for the value it represented. Two small changes made a difference for me. First, never dismiss someone’s request for help because I felt like I did not have time. It used to be too easy just to say no without thinking, because I am always busy. Two, every day find a way to do something for someone else. No matter how big or small, this effort will make a difference.
Value my relationships more than money. I expanded my concept of giving beyond just donations to my church, the United Way, and other organizations. I began to see how I can do a better job of supporting others in ways that build relationships, changes lives, and brightens the future. When you see, feel, and participate, it is more than a donation. I want to make sure my generosity is about people and relationships.
Think long term. Nothing I do today will have a dramatic immediate impact. However, doing something everyday for someone over the next ten, twenty, or thirty years will help make a better future.

Being generous not only helps other people, it makes me better. These changes in my life have affected my daily attitude. Each day I get up knowing that I am doing my best to be generous. How do you want to embrace generosity in your life?