A formula for progress

Following what I have written over previous days days, I've been developing the concept of how to progress through our outcomes.

There are times when we see apparent successes that people achieve, however, there they can be false. They only appear as true to satisfy the parameters that have been set.

For instance: yesterday I wrote about the success of the runner Usain Bolt. I can remember back in 1988 that Ben Johnson appeared to smash the 100 metres world record, only to discover that he had cheated by using banned substances to attempt to achieve that outcome. This is what I describe as a false outcome.

Very often in politics and business we see outcomes that appear to achieve good results, only to discover that statistics have been manipulated to achieve an outcome that looks far better than it is in reality.

I had a job some years ago where I saw this directly in action in order for a business to retain a contract that in... click here to read the rest.

Creative Visualization

Picture attribute courtesy of Pete Hobden http://www.flickr.com/photos/55454187@N08/5155113480/

 "The problem with Martin in class is that he is a dreamer"
As a young child, that is what I heard spoken about me when I was in earshot and as if I wasn't there. I grew up thinking that being a dreamer was a bad thing. It is of course far from the truth. 

To create a vision in your minds eye of where you want to be. To "feel" that as if it were real right then and there. To taste and to smell the goodness of the feeling using the minds natural resource is a wonderful gift that I believe we all have if we choose to believe it and practice it regularly. Some find the process easier than others, but it IS something that we can learn. 

Day 6 of the Mind Alchemy workshop involves doing that very task of imagining what we want in our lives and "living" it in our mind. Personally, I found today's task relatively easy to do and very enjoyable too. I'm going to share my created and visualised story here and now.

Mind Alchemy Day 6 – Your perfect day

Read the 'Perfect Day' exercise details on the Mind Alchemy Day 6 - Your

Perfect Day and write your perfect day in here with as much details as

possible.

"It is a pleasant spring morning and I wake at 6am feeling rested after a good night sleep. The early morning light is seeping through the blind of the large picture window of my bedroom. I get out of bed and open the blinds to see the beautiful and serene view of the rural setting of my detached home. The birds are singing outside as the early morning sun begins to rise on the horizon, lighting up the early morning dew.

My wife is still asleep as I walk out of the bedroom through the spacious hallway and into the kitchen to make tea and toast. I put 2 slices of brown bread into the toaster and switch on some soothing classical music, a little Grieg. I take the morning cup of tea through to my wife and see the bedroom gradually begin to light up the airy, light, pastel coloured walls.

Walking into the on suite bathroom/wet room I brush my teeth and dress in my running shoes, shirt and shorts and start to do some gentle stretching. Just before I leave the house, I drink a glass of fruit juice, then I go for a 30 minute run down the country road leading to a coastal path across the cliffs, smiling at and acknowledging local people taking the dogs for a walk. The early morning sun has risen and there is a light fresh breeze. The sky is a bright blue with wisps of clouds.

Returning home, I take a shower, feeling full of vitality and enjoy the buzz of endorphins and serotonin naturally flowing around my body. I then go to my study and spend 30 minutes doing a meditation exercise, preparing myself for the day. I then switch on my PC and spend the morning preparing material and making arrangements for my next seminar.

My wife prepares lunch in our spacious kitchen. A salad with fresh produce from my garden that includes beetroot, lettuce, spring onions, peppers. Chicken and freshly boiled potatoes are placed on the table for the family to add to their plates.

After lunch, my colleagues from the band call round and we go into my recording studio to practice. We begin to work on some new songs through the afternoon and spend an hour planning our next few gigs as well as making final arrangements for our gig in the evening in town at the theatre.

It is late afternoon and my family gather together to go for a walk down toward the beach. We pop into a seafront cafe for a snack and refreshment before returning to my detached house to prepare for the evening where I will be playing live with the band. The whole family will be attending this event that will be covered by the local media.

Arriving at the theatre, I feel that familiar sense of excitement before our performance as people begin to enter the venue. The whole band working together preparing the equipment quickly gets us ready for the sound check and performance.

Having played 3 sets of our own music mixed with covers, the atmosphere is electric as the audience shout for more. CD's and merchandise sell well during the evening. We then pack everything and retire to the bar for a relaxing drink. We all discuss the success of the evening before returning home.

Arriving back at my detached home, I put my vehicle into the garage and sit out on the patio enjoying the peace of the spring evening and reflecting upon my day, allowing time to process the experience. As a little light rain begins to fall, I return indoors to watch a little TV before retiring to bed at about 12:30"

 

 Now listen!
Since Christmas, I've had the fantastic opportunity to learn to fly a helicopter! How fantastic is that? See the video......
 

What can you do with Feedback?

Image courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/lost__in__spain/2575314016/
Day 4 of Steve Aitchison's Mind Alchemy and I'm really fired up after today's exercise! 

Writing a personal mission or vision statement is something I've tried to do before fairly recently but I'd say it has lack a little clarity. Today however, and with the timely intervention of 2 endorsements on the facebook application "Branchout" (one from Steve Aitchison himself)  the other from Matt Brown whom I met for a cuppa thanks to his invite the other day. 
I've been able to write something really meaningful as a result of feedback received.

Writing positively about oneself is quite a difficult thing to do and takes practice. There is the sense that we somehow want to be objective. What better way to get round this than to use the words gifted to us by the feedback of others! It then become authentic. 

If you get some inspiring feedback from someone, it is one thing to accept it and be grateful for it, but what are you going to do with it? If you do nothing, it will become stale and simply fade away. 


MAKE USE of the feedback to improve your life in  dramatic way. It is arguably the best gift you can get from somebody. I'm telling you this because this has become a true realisation for me literally since I got home from work today, switched on my PC and saw the feedback I received! 

I'm now going to share with you my mission/vision statement based on the work I've done for Mind Alchemy day 4.

My infectious and upbeat attitude, enthusiasm and drive, coupled with the learning and creative material I have produced will make a considerable difference to the lives of the clients that choose to work with me. My business will increase to earning a real significant part time income over the coming year of at least £500 per month profit by the end of 2011. I will also become a lead motivational speaker within the organisation with a conference of over 500 delegates who will be inspired by my infectious and upbeat attitude driven by integrity. 

My tenacious and patient attitude toward steadily building and increasing my network in my professional and personal life will increase opportunities to get recognition in my full time job (thereby receiving relevant remuneration) and will enable me to set up my own part time coaching business earning me additional, supplementary income. 

The Band I Play for: 

The presence of Beggars' Belief and the bands unique sound and truly live performance will become increasingly popular. The use of innovative promotional techniques to promote the band through it's fan base will spread the popularity. The band will perform at least once via radio and/or TV media by the end of 2011 earning national and international recognition. The upbeat, inspiring and positive music that is full of the realism of life experience in the written song lyrics will bring a positive attitude in the UK nation and beyond. 

By setting up a regular running regime and increasing my fitness during 2011, I will enter a marathon during the year to raise funds for a charitable cause of my choice.

 
 I truly believe that the music written by the band I'm in has the potential to be amazingly successful. The lyrics in the songs really do mean something. 
Take a listen to one of our country numbers "Grace". 
If you are seeking truth in your life, you'll not go far wrong be being inspired by what is sung here. Credit to Paul, Joe and the gang. 

 
 

Anticrastination - Using words in a positive sense

This is another reaction blog to Steven Aitchisons Mind Alchemy course http://www.stevenaitchison.co.uk/blog/2011/02/03/mind-alchemy-day-3-your-life-values/

As usual, I'm pretty much free writing this blog entry as I go relying upon my mind being creative for content. 

First of all, following the module on direction, I found myself analysing how some of my thoughts are "away from". The work carried out became a bit of an inspiration and I considered the created word "Anticrastination". I'm thinking that it is a kind of antidote to procrastination. Once I considered this, I resolved to go for my first run this year. In fact its more like my first run for about 6 months, having got out of the habit during last year. The weather outside wasn't too cold yesterday so I resolved to get on with it instead of just thinking about it. I thoroughly enjoy that feeling of endorphins kicking in and the high I get after the run. See the video below. 

I found the exercise on evaluating life values quite hard today, however I sincerely believe that it's a very important subject to look at. Referring to an earlier blog I wrote on goal setting, discovering life values forms the foundations for effective goal setting. Our goals then become authentic. 

I also believe, as Steve has suggested in his blog on life values that our values will change over time. To explain this with an analogy, our values are like a lump of plasticine. Plasticine needs to be kept warm and malleable. It needs constant work, otherwise it becomes hard and brittle, crumbling to dust like clay. The same can be said about goal setting. It takes attention and constant remoulding. Using positive words keep our intentions somewhat sticky like the warm plasticine. Try attaching 2 pieces of cold and hard plasticine together and you'll find they do not have very good adhesion. 

That's about all I have to say on the subject today.
Good luck folks....

How to Identify your Direction

Today's blog is inspired by the free training set up by Steven Aitchison's "Mind Alchemy". It will be pretty likely most of my blogs over the coming month will have that very same motivation. 

Completing the day 2 exercise gave me real food for thought. 

Identifying key elements of what we want to achieve and how we word that in our mind really does display the elements that can hold us back. The instructions provided on Mind Alchemy, if followed authentically really do bring some clarity. By allowing too much focus on what we want to move away from, we do not allow the creative part of our mind to search for solutions. The training I received at the weekend in coaching people very much focuses on, 


"What can you do?"
"What else can you do?"

Asking these questions in more and more creative ways allow the mind to use the creative area of the brain. We can ask these questions of ourselves. 

When running groups at work, I often find that I have creative ideas during the group that are not pre-planned. It is a skill that I realise I have been gifted with and have finally accepted. I firmly believe that everyone has this ability if they choose to tap into it. I've said this before and highly recommend it. Try doing the Honey Mumford Learning Styles questionnaire.  Doing this, I found it helped me to discover more clearly, my identity and to value that. It will give you a great insight to your learning style and will identify that you do have a creative element.

Honey Mumford. Here's a quick and easy link to one. Click here


Facing a problem....
Here is a way of approaching it.

1. Ask yourself "What can I do?" Don't worry at this stage if nothing comes to mind.
2. Take some time out for relaxation and meditation. Follow a guided meditation resource such as the following. Click here
3. Now that you be a little calmer, ask yourself again "What can I do? What else can I do?"
4. Write down your answers.
5. Do a brain training exercise such as a word puzzle, crossword, Sudoku. You might like to listen to some suitable music when doing this. I highly recommend listening to Bach if you are doing a numbers puzzle.
6. Finally, again ask yourself "What else can I do?"

When returning to ask the questions in each case, try not to focus too much on the problem. Do focus on searching for solutions. 


An example for me today is having one or two issues around finances. Some creative ideas I've had around this are to link up with a friend and go busking for a day. That is just one idea that may be possible. There are plenty of others. 


On the subject of money. I think the reason I get frustrated about it is because I've always focused on not having enough instead of being grateful for what I do have. Once accepting that, I can free up energy to move forward to greater comfort.
  
Finally, in case you haven't already seen it, here is Steve Aitchison's interview recorded yesterday talking about Mind Alchemy.

Will you take part in an experiment I'm setting up?

Yes, this is my second blog of the day and not something I usually do. I prefer to set blogs as one per day, but I feel a little intrigued and excited about something I've come up with.
This will take no more than half an hour of your time.

Here is what you need: -

1. An A4 sheet of paper and a pen.
2. An envelope.
3. Use of a calendar or diary.
4. A lit candle and a coin, or something that will make an impression. (not strictly necessary) 

Now the instructions: -

Write your full name and today's date at the top of the sheet of paper. 


VERY IMPORTANT!
Do NOT share the following content you write with anybody.

You might want to imagine interviewing a little version of yourself sitting opposite you as you carry out the exercise, recording the answers.

• Write down up to 7 things you love to do.
• Write down  up to 7 career goals or jobs you would love to do.
• Write down up to 7, of your best talents (Don't be shy!)
• Write down up to 7 things people say you are good at.
• Write down up to 7 things you want to learn.
• Write down up to 7 things you want to leave behind in your life.

Don't worry if you can't think of 7 things in each case. Just put down as much as you can manage. With regard to your talents (that I'm guessing some of you may find difficult) be aware that talents may be the very simple things in life such as being able to cook a meal or make a drink or being a good friend to somebody. 

If you can think of more than 7 things in each case, write down the 7 FIRST things that come into your head. Don't change them!

When you have done this, put it in an envelope, write your name on it and write "Open on 1st July 2011".
Seal the envelope and sign across the fold. 


If you have a lit candle, drip the candle wax across the fold of the envelope and make an impression with something like a coin or ideally something that is precious to you. A ring perhaps. Be careful with the lit candle!


Place the envelope in a safe place hidden away somewhere.


Write in your diary or calendar an entry for 1st July 2011 reminding you to open your envelope. Ensure you record the safe place you have stored it.  


You may be wondering why I have asked you not to share the content with anyone. This is deliberate because I want you to ensure that you are not influenced by how you may perceive others may judge what you have written. It must not be influenced by any other outside influence. This will help you to get in touch with your true self. 


Please feel free to share this experimental exercise with your friends and contacts, encouraging them to take part in the experiment too. You have permission to send a link to this blog if you wish.


On the 1st July 2011. I would like you to share your thoughts on what you wrote today. Please send me your feedback via the comments section on my blog. 


I assure you that I have just done this exercise for myself this afternoon and I too will open my envelope and share my thoughts.


My blog is called "Living Life in Chapters" so this is a way of assessing a chapter in our lives. 


Thank you in advance for giving this a go. 


Blessings

The Coaching Academy - An Evaluation

It was about a month ago whilst researching for inspirational material that I came across the possibility to attend a 2 day training event with "The Coaching Academy". I registered my interest and received an invite. 
My thoughts were, I've nothing to lose. Simply a weekend of my time plus the cost of travel. My thoughts were: the minimum to gain would be to network with lots of people with a like mind. 
I prepared myself for the possibility of hard selling techniques, being aware there is a history of this sort of thing when there is a give away.
Arriving at the hotel Saturday morning, everything appeared fine. It was good to see that all seats were taken. I'd guess that everyone who signed up actually turned up. 

The trainers were very friendly and professional. Right from the off, our minds were put at rest with a calm and confident statement that there would be no hard sell. Costs for signing up to the full training would be supplied at the end and that would be that. 

Trainers showed a great respect for all the people attending this event recognising that people were coming for various reasons, and if that was simply to gain a little taster of coaching that was fine. 


There was a great, positive atmosphere over the whole weekend that certainly was not "over the top" as far as I was concerned. 

This training contained some goal setting techniques and questioning techniques that are somewhat similar to what I already know and use. The benefit of seeing and practising this certainly added value for me. Working in small groups and pairs as often happens on training day, one person wrote some feedback on my workbook that touched me. She wrote "Good natured soul!" That was a real blessing. We had only met and spoke about 10 minutes for the exercise. I'll treasure that kind compliment.

I was also pleased to see that there wasn't a massive reference to gaining enormous riches. Earning money was, of course referred to, but I'd say it was secondary to the ethos of having the opportunity to do something worthwhile for those of us that were seeking. 


Marks out of 10? I'd give it a definite 10. 

As for signing up for the training myself. Well I'll see. It isn't cheap, but that is to be expected when loss leader weekends such as these are put on. I don't have that sort of money at the moment and would have to borrow if I do go forward with it in the short term. (I'll not mention the costs here out of respect for the organisation). You really do need to see the whole weekend event to appreciate the value of what is on offer. 


I made some nice contacts with some very nice and friendly people. 

I've no reason to doubt the integrity of "The Coaching Academy" and have not found any significant negative feedback about them. That is simply my opinion and I'd love to here from anyone else with their experiences. 
I'm happy to promote them here. After all, I've had the benefit of their free training, so I feel it's worthy to return the compliment with a little promotion.


I'm now looking forward to Steven Aitchison's Mind Alchemy material for February. I'll likely write about that here too. Watch this space. 


Throughout the days during breaks, some pleasant music was played. Today, I particularly enjoyed some Frank Sinatra.

What is Motivation?

I'm looking forward to tomorrow because I will be delivering a training workshop to staff that is intended to help people become motivated. The purpose is also to propagate this motivational energy so that it will snowball to others. 

So what is motivation and how does it manifest?

Everyone experiences motivation to a greater or lesser degree in their lives. Difficulties occur when our motivation is low. Motivation is clearly linked to our emotions. Positive motivation is driven by our sense of well being and purpose in life. 

It is most effective when it comes from the very centre of our individuality and being. If we know who we are and accept that we have value, we will be able to focus on that motivation and be less likely to be distracted by outside influences. I feel certain that famous people that have achieved amazing feats have that knowledge of value in life. A typical person would be Sir Edmund Hillary who conquered Mount Everest.

Having a confident sense of personal value must surely be the key to achieving goals.

So why does our motivation sometimes wane? 

I think this is because the motivation is driven by some outside influence or source. Being motivated by seeking to prove somebody wrong may seem on the surface all well and good, however, there is a danger in this. When we come up against a challenge along the way, self talk may come in that says: 

"Maybe the other person was not wrong about me. I'm going to fail and feel like a fool." 

It is quite possible that the other person will not think you a fool at all. If we are trying to prove someone wrong, then essentially our motivation is to attempt to make a fool out of the other person. Frankly, what purpose does that serve? It certainly has some sort of negative intention on our part.

Maybe the outside influence is to try to impress somebody. If we have personal value and are at peace with ourselves, surely there is no need to impress anyone else. Self value is far more powerful than any feedback that we get from anyone else. Of course, getting positive affirmations is important because they help to build and maintain a sense of personal value. 

A few years ago, I became very enthusiastic and motivated by a business I got involved with. My motivation was driven to a certain extent by anger at having lost a job. It was my own sense of being wronged and wanting to prove that I could succeed. I got some limited success, but the driving (negative) energy source soon ran out. It ended with a breakdown of sorts where I felt I had failed. I felt I'd failed those who I love and care about. I felt that others would be disappointed by me and ultimately, I felt I had failed myself. The motivation did not come from my true self. I was even in denial about the fact I did not really believe in the product I was marketing!  

When we feel enthusiastic and motivated about something, we can choose to evaluate where it comes from. 

How much of it comes from the anticipation of receiving praise? 

When we receive praise, are we able to accept it in a genuine and thankful manner that helps to build and maintain our personal and individual sense of value?

I write about this because it is a continued challenge on the journey of self discovery, self acceptance and sense of well being. 

Be blessed folks...

Marty 

Another take on goal setting

Businesses and organisations that seek to be successful and professional generally have a mission statement. If they have a policy and procedure manual, I've no doubt that when they developed it, they started with a mission statement. I've worked where there has been attention to this. During those times, I was pretty cynical and failed to see the relevance. There was rebellion in me for being forced to comply to an extent. 

A couple of years ago, I had a revelation about the purpose of a mission statement. It certainly is a GOAL.

Today, I have decided to do some research on some corporate missions statements. I'll state here and now that neither were as easy to find as I'd expected. 

WAL-MART
"Our mission is to enhance and integrate our supplier diversity programs into all of our procurement practices and to be an advocate for minority and women owned businesses"

OK. So cool! Wal-Mart has a mission statement. I don't know about you, but I suspect that the average Joe in the street would have trouble fully understanding what this means. For me, I have a vague idea that is has something to do with promoting women, other than that and without research on the true meaning of the words, it's nothing short of corporate speak gobbledegook! I'd suggest it could do with a makeover by rewording to more simple language. 

Lets take a look at another.

The online store AMAZON
"Our vision is to be earth's' most customer centric company, to build a place where people can come to find and discover anything they might want to buy online"

This one is much easier to understand. Aside of the word "centric" I'd say that the wording is clear and easy to understand for anybody. 

A lack of understanding of a mission statement can cause the workforce to have a lack of direction, purpose and motivation. Individuals (particularly managers) can be in danger of focussing to much upon day to day running, reports, procedures and box ticking exercises. These are of course important, but may not necessarily have a conscious and subconscious link to the foundations of a clear mission statement. 


So referring back to goals, we can choose to apply a personal mission statement to our lives. This will give us, purpose, motivation, direction and energy. It will also build self confidence and self esteem. 

• Do you have a personal mission statement?

• If so, can you write it down in language that you and others understand?

If you do this, I'm suggesting that you will discover a life goal. I challenge you to work out what you life mission is and to develop a statement for it. Once you have done this, check to see if your current goals are compatible with your mission statement. Don't worry if they are not. Goals can be a "work in progress". In other words, they can be amended and don't have to be the final product. You can choose to fine tweak them.


Now in order to practice this for myself, I'm going to write a draft personal mission statement.


"To live a life of joy and purpose. To continue to learn to accept, respect and be kind to myself so that I can successfully accept, respect and be kind to others. To Motivate, Encourage, Empower and Trust others. To enjoy the gift of humour and to laugh often by not taking myself too seriously. To recognise that all aspect of life have natural balance; so allow nature to perform that balance".


Hmmmm. That's a start. 


Over to you folks, if you choose to do the same. 

P.s. (an add on to this blog an hour or so after publishing)
Just for fun, check out this site Plain English Campaign and play with the gobbledegook generator. Very funny!

Self Healing - achieving goals with a purpose.

Have you ever experienced that moment of feeling particularly unwell with all the symptoms enhanced? 
Have you then suddenly felt miraculously better the moment you have called your doctor and made an appointment, followed by the symptoms almost disappearing the moment you actually visit the doctor? There's a temptation to "put it on a bit" to justify the reason for calling the doctor in the first place. That "wishful thinking" I suspect can actually make the illness worse, simply by calling it into being.
Generates a bit of guilt doesn't it.




In truth, I believe that the mere action of doing something about it (calling the doctor) triggers our bodies natural response to heal. Somehow, we have some sort of faith that we will be healed because we have apportioned some of the responsibility onto someone else - the doctor.  Without realising it, we have set ourselves a goal - I must call the doctor - followed by actions - making that call. It's a simple and natural process really.


So, why not apply this simple process to the whole of our lives. 


I've been reading so much about this sort of material recently. It really does make sense. There is logic and evidence. This creates the faith to confirm it actually is going to work. 


I have created a screen saver on my PC at work that states "The process of your positive and focused mind provides the success you deserve". 

I didn't see this written anywhere else, I simply thought it up myself. I guess that way, I take ownership of the statement which makes it more believable. It's a goal I've set myself.

If you are looking for healing in your life, whether that be physical healing or simply looking to fix some aspect of your life, visualising and setting a goal for the future, working out the process and believing each stage of the process is achievable, no matter how small, is the way to go. The most important part is to action it. 
Like choosing to call the doctor when you feel particularly unwell (a logical process), that ACTION part is what starts the healing process. Lets face it, it can't be any worse than doing nothing at all. 


Wishing you healing in your life for whatever that may be. 


Marty

positivity

I want to start blogging regularly again. How can I get back to doing this in the way I did a couple of years ago?
Setting goals is about doing and doing NOW!
Here's a few short lines as a starter.
"I'm learning more and more each day to tap into and keep with a positive frame of mind. The techniques of "filing" negativity in a place where it stops contaminating the good aspects of life. There's a time and place to acknowledge grief and also PLENTY of time to embrace joy and goodness."

I'd posted this elsewhere a few minutes ago. Fresh out of my mind.