Uncategorized – Page 4 – Mark S. Brown

When You’re Working, Work at Your Best

Have you ever thought about how you could always work at your best? When you are at your best, doing what you need to do, what does it look like, feel like, sound like?

Wouldn’t it be nice if you were always effective at 100% of your capability? I thought I would try to capture what my best felt like. I completed a short exercise where I started writing my ideas about my productivity. I started with the sentence, “I am at my best…” and captured my ideas on being my best. Here they are.

I am at my best…

when my energy level is high (mornings)
when my attention is focused
when I have a clear goal with a clear deadline
when achievement of the goal supports a bigger purpose
when I am in a comfortable and quiet environment
when I am not overwhelmed or behind in my tasks
when I can be creative
when I have time to think about strategic options
when I don’t worry about what others think
when I plan my actions in advance
when I am intentional with my actions
when my attitude is positive
when my work reflects my personal values
when I over-prepare
when I am helping others
when I am listening
when I take time for exercise
when I am learning
when I have data I trust
when I am working with people I trust and respect
when I truly value the people I am with
when I embrace failure as a process required for success
when I tackle the hardest tasks first

This was a great reflective exercise for me. It defines what is required of me every day if I want to be at my best.

Your list is different. Take a blank piece of paper and challenge yourself to define when you work at your best. What does it feel like for you?

What Questions Should You Be Asking Yourself Today?

It was Socrates that said, “An unexamined life is not worth living”. I am reading John Maxwell’s newest book, Good Leaders Ask Great Questions, and in the second chapter, John reveals the questions he asks himself every day. He then challenges the reader to make their own list. I recently took that challenge.

Questions are an important tool in examining yourself. I did not think it would be very difficult, but quickly realized how empowering this exercise was.

Here are the six questions I decided I should be asking myself every day:

1. Am I helping others? This is a question of purpose. As a coach, my aspiration is to help others become successful in their lives. Every day I need to evaluate what I have done to achieve this objective. I should define the value I have contributed. This question keeps me aligned with my purpose.

2. Am I guided by my heart? This is a question of motive. Motives matter. I find it interesting that John Maxwell points out that motives are different than values. You can have good values and still be affected by the wrong motive. This question helps me be guided by positive motives.

3. Am I being authentic? This is a question of character. I need to be who I am. My actions need to reflect who I am and who I want to be. If you want to do more, you have to be more. This question aligns my actions with my values.

4. Am I working in my strength zone? This is a question of effectiveness. If I spend too much time out of my strength zone, then the best I can be is average. Doing what I am best at, allows me to excel. Spending time in my strength zone is what can differentiate me. This question allows me to be strategic.

5. Am I taking care of today? This is a question of priorities. I follow a process to make sure my actions are important. I invest time in my faith, my family, my health, my work, and doing what is required of me. It is a matter of organizing my day with the right priorities. This question helps me keep perspective.

6. Am I growing as a person? This is a question of success. Investing in myself is an investment that has everlasting value. I can only succeed to the level of my awareness, my belief in myself, and my competency. I invest in myself daily, to grow as a person, and to grow my success daily. This question challenges me.

These are the six questions I defined when I took the challenge. I found this to be a very enlightening exercise. It gets to the very core of who you are, and who you want to become.

Are you ready for the challenge? What questions would you define for yourself? What questions will help you examine your life, and live to your fullest?

A Great Tip for Getting Unstuck

We all get stuck. You know the feeling. The one where that voice in your head is telling you all the reasons why you cannot do something. We all face these struggles at times. How do you get past your internal barrier?

One method is visualization. Visualize yourself going through the steps of getting past your barrier. Not just the results, or the success, but actually doing the work required.

As a simple example, think about getting an apple from one of the higher branches of a tree. Obviously this is a very simplified example. But to get that apple, don’t think about what it will feel like to hold and taste the apple, instead visualize the steps required to get the apple.

Will you bring a ladder? Will you climb the tree? Will you use something to knock the apple from the limb, or will you grab it and pull it from the limb? Visualizing the steps is different than visualizing the results. Once you can see yourself doing the steps it is a matter of following through. The action required becomes clearer.

Ok. That was a really simple, basic example, and your challenges are much tougher. But sometimes, we just need to break our challenges into small steps. Steps that we can see ourselves taking.

I want you to think of your biggest current challenge. Then think of the very first step required to achieve that challenge. Visualize yourself doing it. Then go out and do it. Take the first step. Each successive step will be easier.

Achieving a dream requires taking the journey. Need a push? Send me an email!

Whose Priorities Are You Working On?

Have you ever felt like you were working on everything that everyone else wanted, but had no time for yourself? If you fail to put into perspective all the priorities that you have in your life, you can quickly become drained of your energy.

If you are like me, you can divide your priorities into three categories:

1. Priorities that are required of you. You have no choice, but to keep these high on your list. Maybe they are activities that only you can do. Or activities that are required because of your position or occupation.

2. Priorities driven by desire. These are the priorities associated with activities that provide you joy. They energize you. You are always trying to fit these in your schedule.

3. Priorities that give you personal results. These are the priorities that help you sustain or grow your income. These activities are what provide you the ability to pay for your life.

The next time you updating your priority list, think about how you can make sure you are covering all 3 types of priorities. It will keep you in harmony with your long term plans.

If you would like to review your priorities and find more clarity in your actions, I would be glad to meet you for a coffee!