Over the holiday, I went and saw a movie with my wife called “The Blind Side”.
You’ve seen the trailers. It has Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw and a gigantic African American high school student from the wrong side of town.
I wasn’t interested in seeing this movie at all. The reason was that I already knew exactly what was going to happen. So did you.
Here’s what I thought the storyline would be – We are introduced to a disadvantaged poor kid from a bad part of town. The odds are stacked against…
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Added by CJ McClanahan on November 30, 2009 at 9:49am —
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Take out a piece of paper and write down a list of everything that interests you. For most that will include exercise, church, family, work, travel, friends, Facebook, TV, radio, video games, neighbors, etc. Put everything on this list that occupies your time throughout a typical month.
Next, I want you to circle the 5 things that are most important to you. These are your commitments.
Finally, I want you to look at your calendar during the past month and see where you spent your time. Was it s…
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Added by CJ McClanahan on November 24, 2009 at 8:05am —
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Mike Mountford, CEO of the $30 million company AllAmericanDirect.com, started a multi-million dollar high-margin division of his business, by anticipating the ‘next needs’ of the market.
Here’s how he did it: Mike has owned a company in the satellite TV industry for over 25 years. Three years ago, a major provider of satellite TV was about to lose their ability to broadcast a certain group of television stations signals. Mike heard this news and actively thought about what he could do to solve…
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Added by CJ McClanahan on October 22, 2009 at 10:28am —
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We are all heavily swayed by words. They influence what shows we watch, the foods we buy and the decisions we make at the ballot box.
As a conservative, the most frustrating thing about the election of Barack Obama was not that this nation chose a liberal politician who fundamentally believes that a larger government is the key to our challenges. What drove (and continues to drive) me nuts is that people voted for and support President Obama because of what he says, not what he does.
Political…
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Added by CJ McClanahan on October 20, 2009 at 9:37am —
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How important is our environment?
Last year, I was doing some volunteer work and had the opportunity to get to know a 5 year old boy named Bill. Bill lived with his mother and grandmother in a small 2 bedroom apartment. Bills’ mother worked 2 jobs to put food on the table, and his father was in jail.
After I completed my project with this family, I remember thinking to myself – “What is going to become of Bill?”
His environment is filled with individuals who have struggled and never achieved…
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Added by CJ McClanahan on October 15, 2009 at 9:00am —
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I am an executive coach and motivational speaker. As a result, I rely on my ability to inspire, communicate and emotionally connect with my clients and audiences.
However, in a past life I was a numbers guy and as a result I am obsessed with data. In fact, I will argue that your success in life can almost always get boiled down to a mathematical equation.
Interested in losing weight? Calculate how many calories you burn each day and consume less than this number.
Want to increase your sales?…
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Added by CJ McClanahan on October 8, 2009 at 10:04am —
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This past weekend I completed the Lake Lemon Triathlon just north of Bloomington, IN.
My triathlon strategy is simple - survive the swim with a little bit left in the tank so that I can coast on the bike, regain my strength, and finish the run strong.
I’m not exactly a champion.
I compete in these events for a handful of reasons - stay in shape, get a t-shirt, have fun, etc.
This year I added a new motivation for my participation.
This year my kids came to see me compete for the first time.…
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Added by CJ McClanahan on September 22, 2009 at 8:10am —
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I just finished preparing a talk for a group of extremely talented professionals who are very, very busy.
As with most of my executive coaching clients, they are convinced that there simply aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done.
I agree.
However, I gently remind them that there is plenty of time each day to complete what must be done.
The problem is that they have confused daily activity with meaningful accomplishments.
Unfortunately, today most people measure their effectiv…
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Added by CJ McClanahan on September 15, 2009 at 8:40am —
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Do have a coworker/employee that is constantly telling everyone how many hours they worked?
Of course you do.
These individuals would like to wear bright orange badge on their shirt that provides a running total so that we could all stand in awe and marvel at their hours logged.
Would you like to stump this super worker? The next time they begin to tout their latest 14 hr day, ask them the following question – “How much value did you deliver?”
Unless you are paid hourly, the number of hours…
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Added by CJ McClanahan on September 8, 2009 at 12:24pm —
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“Raise your hand if you earned exactly what you chose to earn last year.”
I ask this question from time to time in my talks and I typically never see one hand in the air.
The truth is that we all earned exactly what we chose to earn last year. Our health, relationships, and personal net worth are all exactly where we chose them to be.
It is, and has always been, about choice.
Do you want to earn more money? Learn more, make better decisions and work harder.
Are you interested in improving y…
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Added by CJ McClanahan on September 1, 2009 at 10:30am —
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The current economic challenges have rattled everyone – including me.
However, the response to this crisis has been all over the map.
Some individuals and businesses have panicked. They change their business model every 48 hours in a desperate attempt to find something that works. In addition, their service begins to suffer because they feel defeated. You can see it on their face and hear it in the tone of their voice. It’s over.
My message here is not to criticize. The rules have drastically…
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Added by CJ McClanahan on August 25, 2009 at 12:09pm —
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By now you know that #4 is going to play football for the Minnesota Vikings. Every commentator/columnist I have heard is calling this entire thing a charade and arguing that Favre is tarnishing his legacy.
You know what I find interesting about that sentence? It’s the word “his”. It is his choice to do whatever he wants to do with his life – no one else’s.
This reminds me of one of my favorite quotes from Steve Jobs”
“Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't b…
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Added by CJ McClanahan on August 25, 2009 at 12:08pm —
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If you pay attention to the local or national news today (radio, TV, internet or newspaper) you will undoubtedly see a story about the health care debate.
The reason this has become such big news is that for the first time in a long time the average intellectually lazy American (which is about 95% of the country) is beginning to pay attention to what is going on in the US politically.
Unfortunately, I still think that most are still just paying attention to the sound bites. We hear that “46 mi…
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Added by CJ McClanahan on August 13, 2009 at 9:33am —
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I read or heard somewhere that the space shuttle uses 90% of its fuel just to get out of the earth’s atmosphere. After it’s free, it’s smooth sailing.
That metaphor is applicable to many of the things that we find difficult to accomplish in business and life.
Once you get going and develop some momentum you are completely OK. The problem is that “getting going” is so tough that we never do it.
For example, you have a list of 50 cold calls that you need to make and you stare at the list for 3…
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Added by CJ McClanahan on August 13, 2009 at 9:31am —
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The latest economic downturn has changed the rules for most of us.
A few years back we were willing to try just about anything because if it didn’t work there was always a way to make (or borrow) more money.
That dog no longer hunts.
Unfortunately, the theoretical pendulum has swung too far in the other direction.
Now most of us are scared to try anything.
Our “safety net” has been removed and we don’t want to get out on that trapeze because we might fall.
As Bill Clinton said – “I feel yo…
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Added by CJ McClanahan on August 4, 2009 at 8:23am —
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Intellectually speaking, business is very simple.
It’s about developing a process and following that process every single time.
The problem in 2009 is that most of us are so easily distracted that we struggle to follow any process.
The other day a client of mine told me that he had just found a new technique (it was actually a nifty website) for helping his sales team close business.
I responded by asking him which of his 6 salespeople had come close to mastering the simple sales process tha…
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Added by CJ McClanahan on August 3, 2009 at 2:01pm —
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Earlier today, I got into an argument with my wife.
Imagine that.
After I had cooled down a bit, I prepared to go back and rationalize all of the reasons why she was wrong and I was right.
We sat down and she informed me that before we discussed our disagreement she wanted to remind me why she was upset.
I had done a bad job of managing her expectations.
Now, I don’t want to give the impression that my wife is always right but… I quickly realized that I was wrong in this instance.
My wife…
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Added by CJ McClanahan on July 30, 2009 at 10:37am —
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Recently, I asked a group of business owners to write down the name of the most important business relationship that they had developed in the past 5 years.
After a few minutes I asked the group to provide me with a few names.
Initially, I thought that after meeting hundreds of people this group would have a difficult time narrowing their list down to a few names.
I was wrong.
Nearly everyone in the room struggled to put down one name.
It’s a symptom of our professional lives.
We live unde…
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Added by CJ McClanahan on July 28, 2009 at 9:22am —
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Last fall, a close friend of mine who is an extremely talented business owner informed me that he was going to vote for Barack Obama for president.
I asked him if he could provide me with one specific issue that he felt differentiated the 2 candidates and led him to his choice.
He couldn’t come up with one – not one.
He indicated that Obama just seemed more “presidential” than McCain.
Unfortunately, this is America today. We are so overwhelmed with information that none of us takes the time…
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Added by CJ McClanahan on July 27, 2009 at 12:52pm —
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Imagine for a minute that it is the summer of 2012 and your life has gone perfectly.
What are you doing professionally? Where do you live? What is your personal net worth? Who do you spend your time with?
Now that you have painted a really interesting picture I have another request – list the reasons why this future may not take place.
There should only be one reason on this list.
You decided that you didn’t want to do whatever it takes to achieve your goals.
You see, each and every person…
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Added by CJ McClanahan on July 23, 2009 at 11:55am —
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