Associates and Time

Is it true that you really are the sum of your five closest associates? Have you chosen well?  Are you running with thoroughbreds or donkeys? Do they inspire you?  Challenge you to become a better person? Make you think?  Help you improve a skill set? Is it time to reevaluate who you are spending your time with?  Could it be time for an upgrade? Ready to hang with the thoroughbreds?

"Pick your pack-who you spend time with is who you become.  Finding a positive peer group of people who challenge you and who are smarter than you will help you become a real life superhero."
-Jim Kwik-

Memory and Time

Did you walk downstairs and wonder what it was you were supposed to get? Are you able to remember all those names and faces you were just introduced to? Is it possible that you have a good memory but it hasn't been trained to hold on to the information coming in?  What's your motivation?  Why do you want to remember that name or fact?  Instead of thinking about what you want to say next, can you just listen, be totally present to what is being said?  What strategies could you learn to help you remember?  Could an make a big improvement in a short amount of time?

"There's no such thing as a good or bad memory-only trained and untrained "
-Jim Kwik-

Stories and Time

What is your story?  Does your business have a story? What are the highlights? Can you tell your story on the elevator?  In three sentences or less? What's your contribution to the world?  Where's the heart of what you do?  Who's the hero?  Do you have a villain you need to keep out?  Will your three lines leave your elevator buddies asking for more details?  Is it time to identify your story?

"I like stories that leave you wanting more, leave you wondering, but don't tell everything."
-Viggo Mortensen-

SWOT and Time

Have you taken the time to do a SWOT analysis on your business lately? Strengths? Weaknesses? Opportunities? Threats?  How do you stand?  How do your competitors stand?  What value do you offer the customer?  Where does the competition edge you out? Are your potential customers ready for a shift that you can capitalize on? What could go wrong that you haven't anticipated?  Is it time for a SWOT analysis so you will be ready for the next market shift?  
"Opportunities are like sunrises.  If you wait too long, you miss them."
-William Arthur Ward-

Tracking and Time

What is something you'd like to track?  Walk the dog daily?  Play outside with the kids?  Write a note to someone you care about daily?  Getting 8 hours of sleep?  Is there benefit to tracking those things you want to improve?  Will repetition make that behavior ingrained? Something you do on autopilot?  What is a minor lifestyle change that you know would bring benefits quickly? Are you ready to experiment and see how tracking makes a difference?  

"Excellence is an art won by training and habituation.  We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly.  We are what we repeatedly do.  Excellence, then, is not a act but a habit."
-Aristotle-

Expectations and Time

What are your expectations for the day?  For the meeting you are about to attend?  For that date tomorrow night?  For what friends and family will do?  For that customer that just chose another company over yours? Could you ask some questions to help you through?  Am I committed to the relationship? How could this opportunity serve as a learning experience for me?  How can I "take the high road" and continue to serve?  Maybe it's a opportunity for them to recognize your value?  Maybe it's time to let it roll off your back and stay the course of excellence?

"Life....it tends to respond to our outlook, to shape itself to meet our expectations."  
-Richard M. DeVos-

Last and Time

Have you ever been last?  Was there some emotional angst involved? How could being last actually be a position of power? Has everyone  already weighed in on the situation and now you have the final word? Could this be your time to tip the scales?  

"We need you.  The best version of you.  You're here for a reason, and we can't wait to see what that is.  Stay in your lane.  Run that race."
-Grace Gealey-

Contribution and Time

Contribution-the act of giving something or something given.  Is your contribution..... Time? Money? Talent?  Generous soul? Volunteering? Planting a tree?  Random act of kindness?  Did you know that contribution is a fundamental human need?  How can you have it all and still not be fulfilled?  Could volunteering at your local school fill that need for contribution?  Maybe your contribution is to be an adviser to a struggling business?  How and what can you contribute to make your life more meaningful?

"Only those who have learned the power of sincere and selfless contribution experience life's deepest joy:true fulfillment."
-Tony Robbins-

Routine and Time

Do you have a morning routine?  What benefits do you receive from spending this time?  Would you be better able to "Seize the Day" if you implemented a routine? What elements would be included in this "Hour of Power"? Exercise? Journaling? Reading? Gratitude? Meditation? Fueling the machine? Is it worth your time?

"The secret of your future is hidden in your daily routine."
-Mike Murdock-

Variety and Time

Are you feeling proficient in your responsibilities? Maybe a little bored? Have you been longing for a burst of spontaneity? How can you mix it up? Change the routine? Depart from the norm? Create a little chaos? What is your method of adding variety to your life-work?

"Sameness is the mother of disgust, variety the cure."

-Petrarch-

Push, Pull and Time

What are you excited about today?  Are you willing to stay up late to make it happen?  What about an early start to get a jump on the day?  Does it feel like you are really pushing to make it happen or is it pulling you?  Are you having to run double time to keep up with all the ideas and creativity flowing? 

"Pull the string, and it will follow wherever you wish.  Push it, and it will go nowhere at all."
-Dwight D. Eisenhower-