unrealistic goals
"Unreasonable and unrealistic goals are easier to achieve"! - Tim Ferriss.
Try that one on for size! I am really enjoying Tim's book and what he has to say! As I pondered the quote above and listened to Tim better explain why he believes the statement is true totally makes sense. When it comes to the topic of goal setting and chasing dreams, nine times out of ten, we set goals that are for the most part safe and will hopefully bring some sort of happiness to our lives. Although that may not be the case for some, the majority would agree. So as a result, the goals that we set are normally mediocre. Tim drops a statistic that 99% of Americans believe that they are NOT capable of achieving great things! Wow, what a staggering statistic. This is why most goals diverge from unrealistic which leads to excitement and settle for attainable, mediocre goals.
So TIm challenges one to set unrealistic, unreasonable goals to get the blood flowing! Just for a second, try on the thought that we create goals to add happiness to our life. What if happiness was equal to boredom? How would that change things? What if happiness was just the status quo that got us through our day? More than likely we would become stuck, if we already aren't, with where we are at. Why is that? Probably because we are lacking excitement. So what if we started to set unrealistic goals that created excitement and energy to our lives? How would that change things? What if chasing our passions and dreams equalled excitement?
One of Tim's challenges to a class at Princeton was to contact one of these three people and to get them to answer any question of their choice. He said, Whoever can do this, I will provide a round trip ticket around the world! The three people were, J-Lo, Bill Clinton and J.D. Salinger. Out of the 20 people that took the challenge, none of them achieved it due to different excuses. Which I think we can all relate to. The follow year threw out the same challenge. 7 people completed the task by contacting people like, George Bush, CEO of Disney, Comcast, Google and HP. And what's crazy is that they all completed the task in 48 hours! Pretty neat in my opinion!
So what if we took risks like that in our daily life, what would come from it? What if you could ask any person in the world a question of any choice that you think would add value to your life, what would ask them? What if passion equalled excitement? What ideas come to mind for you personally that brings excitement to your life and makes you get butterflies in your stomach? Are you going to let the excuses stand in your way? Are you going to be like the other 99% of the people in the world that don't believe that they can achieve great things? Or are you going to stop believing the lies that everyone is better than you and take a chance? Even if worst case scenario comes true, at least you are failing big! The first step to living an uncommon life is making uncommon decisions (in an appropriate ethical manner of course). So lets live uncommon lives!
Popularity: 3% [?]
“just tryin it on for a bit”
I find myself very intrigued these days with books geared towards entrepreneurship. I enjoy reading about different tactics or techniques that people have used to move past the status quo, mundane job and pursue dreams that boring jobs have clouded. With that, I am in no way saying that my job is boring, I just enjoy hearing their stories. Some stories of professional bloggers who have found a way to gain a steady income using the world wide web as their platform. Others find ways to be satisfied with not being rich, but find creative ways to live the "rich" lifestyle. All of which I find intriguing and enjoy reading about.
As I have started to grow and mature, I have learned to not throw a thought or opinion out right away if it doesn't immediately sit well with me but rather take it in, try it on, and explore the possibilities that could stem from that thought or idea. I recently picked up a book from an author named TIm Ferriss. So far I find the book extremely interesting. So far some of the statements that I have found in the book that have stood out are geared towards the fact of working smart, not working hard. A very interesting concept in a world that is driven by outcome and what one can produce. But Tim challenges one to "maximize minimal effort". Basically he is saying, focus your time an energy for a short period of time, knock it out of the park, and enjoy some freedom to do some things in life that you have always dreamed of. Why spend 80hrs a week busting your butt with little to show when you can have a great amount to show in a little bit of time. An interesting concept that I am still trying to figure out. It kind of fits with the statement that the late John Wooden said, Never mistake activity for achievement. All of which I see all to often in today's work force.
All in all I enjoy the different train of thought that Tim brings. I think too many times we limit ourself with "what is right" as oppose to trying out new things in light of breaking a pattern that isn't really working for us. When it comes down to it, its all about creating opportunities. I believe that is why it is important to try on different ideas and explore what possibilities stem from them. Not looking at the new thought or idea as good nor bad, but rather as idea that can be put on like a new shirt at a clothing store and taken right back off if it doesn't fit and put back on the shelf. All in all hopefully new possibilities and opportunities will open up by simply being willing to try something new!
So what is it in your world that is keeping you back? Are you stuck? Are the ideas and thoughts you have continually been going by getting you no where quick? What if you tried something out of the ordinary, what doors do you think might open up for you?
Popularity: 4% [?]
The RD life…
I am approaching my 4th year as an RD here at GCU. At times it has a been a huge learning curve for me and has taught me a lot about myself. At other times it has been a great teaching time for me and has brought about a lot of coaching/mentoring opportunities. Overall it has been a great experience. At times I wonder how much farther this direction of career will take me. Each year has brought its own ups and downs and has left a life changing impact on me as a person. As I personally experience life as, the way I lead and act as an RD is in constant motion. I have learning to not get stuck in my train of thought when it comes to this profession. I have seen the negative affects that a one track mind can have and have personally not been a fan of it. As we grow as leaders and as those we are leading are in constant change, it is our responsibility as leaders to stay one step ahead of the culture we currently live in. What worked 2 years ago may not work currently. Whether its fear of change or a stubborn view of self and philosophy, you need to do your best to step outside of yourself and take a deep look at your purpose!
For me this personally, this next year is going to be focused on a cause that I am committed to when it comes to being an RD. Everything I say and do will be driven by what I am committed to cause in my dorm. The way I lead my staff, the students, the events I plan and the way I interact with both parents and students. My challenge for those in Residence Life, or any profession for that matter, is... What are you committed to cause in your realm of influence? What is going to drive you and keep you focused, even in the frustrating times? Is your commitment so strong that each day it will pull you through the good the bad and the ugly? I think for most people, it is easy to push a commitment aside due to the circumstances that come our way. I challenge that thought process and choose to not let circumstances dictate the way I act.
I am committed to cause community, development, love and encouragement!
What are you committed to cause?
Popularity: 2% [?]
Leadership and Empowerment
"Empowerment is all about Letting Go so that others can Get Going". - Ken Blanchard
The other day I was reading one of Ken Blanchard's many books that he has out on the market about leadership and came across this quote is his book called, "The One Minute Manager Builds High Performing Teams". For some reason this quote really stuck out to me and got my mind thinking about a great deal of things. When it was all said and done I asked myself these two questions, 1. In my leadership style, is this something that I can see coming to fruition in the lives of those that I am leading and 2. How does this apply to my own life.
Too many times in my life I have seen leaders that feel they need to keep a tight grip on every area around them because they feel entitled due to their position or title. This is why we call a micro-manager. All though some micro managers may do this for good cause, I don't always think that they realize how much of a hinderance that they are creating. These types of leaders feel that they are creating "accountability" within their workplace when in reality, all they are doing is creating more restrictions and hindering their teams creativity. When those below us who we are leading, rise to the occasion and achieve great success, it should not pose a threat to us as the leader. As a leader we should take pride in the accomplishments of those we oversee. Too many times this is where pride comes into play and as leaders we feel threatened by those below us and feel a need to smother them with tedious tasks. That is why I am a huge advocate of Blanchard's quote at the beginning of this post. When we as leaders empower people to achieve their dreams and goals, the possibilities are endless.
This takes me into my second question. How would our personal lives differ if we were able to let go of what was personally holding us back to get things going? Too many times we find ourselves holding on to the different things in our lives which hold us back from reaching that next step in life. All of us have the great opportunity to achieve great things in this lifetime but we find ourselves holding on to the different crutches in our life.
So wether you are a leader or someone is being led, imagine what your life would look life if you started to let go so that others could get going! What would your life and team look like as a leader if you exercised humility and gave others the chance to experience greatness? As leaders we don't always have to take all the credit. Enjoy the success of the team and release people their own strengths and creativity and see what doors begin to open for all involved!
What are some ways that you have seen this take place throughout your own personal experience.
Popularity: 8% [?]
Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye
It is late on Thursday night and nothing really came to mind as to what to put on my blog today. I decided tonight to pop in one of my favorite movies, Transformers! I love this movie for a lot of different reasons. I think mainly because it brought me back to my childhood. Also, I think Michael Bay did a great job when it came to taking the popular cartoon and putting it on the big screen.
About a month ago I was in Colorado and had a chance to watch the sequel to the movie. Now most people that saw the movie seemed to not really be a big fan but overall all I thought it was pretty entertaining. Sure, it had a few slow parts, but nothing that made the movie horrible in my eyes. I don't think its ever an easy to follow up a blockbuster movie with an equally powerful sequel. It has been done but it seems to be a rare occasion.
When its all said and done, our human nature to criticize seems to come out and poke its ugly head. Now when it comes to movies it's not too big of a deal but unfortunately it never seems to stop with movies. Criticism comes in all shapes and sizes and normally doesn't bring any good because criticism these days is hardly constructive. What is it in your own life that brings out your critical nature? Where does that critical spirit stem from? Being an opinionated person, this is something that plagues me a lot and I have to make a conscious effort to not bring people down with my harsh criticism. So lets all make an attempt to make humanity a better place and lay off the destructive criticism. If you don't like a movie or a person's weird quirks, keep it to yourself. Try it for a day and see how it affects your community!
Popularity: 49% [?]
Discover what’s been there all along…
It was about 3 years ago when I was first introduced book called Strengths Finders 2.0. This was a short book that came with a test that each reader was suppose to take. Through the way you answered the multiple questions, the end would reveal a list of 5 top strengths that the test taker would receive. These strengths are something that helped put language to certain things that I already knew was inside of me. You see for most of my life I only focused on certain aspects of my life that I wasn't good at and spent most of my time trying to fix those negatives. For some reason I failed to take the things that I excelled in and allowed them to go to waste. Since then I have changed the way I allow my strengths to play out in my life. I no longer choose to put those strengths on the back burner and focus on my weaknesses, rather I choose to focus on those strengths which ultimately has been a lot more gratifying. You see, when you act out of the purpose in which you were created, you feel a sense of excitement and become alive inside. This is something that I believe is missing in most humans. They are too busy living out the things in which they were not created to do and become stagnant in life and their souls are left unsatisfied. Now this book does not help you find your main purpose in life and explain why you were created, but it will help you discover some of the strengths that dwell inside of you and help you to magnify those strengths. When this takes place, I almost guarantee that will start to feel more alive than you ever had when you are able to exercise these natural strengths that dwell within you! So if you are aspiring to be a great leader or are in charge of a team of some sorts, check out the book and take the Strengths Finders test and discover what's been inside of you all along! Check out www.strengthfinders.com to learn more what this is all about.
Below are my top 5 strengths in no specific order.
Activator
People strong in the Activator theme can make things happen by turning thoughts into action. They are often impatient.
Adaptability
People strong in the Adaptability theme prefer to “go with the flow.” They tend to be “now” people who take things as they come and discover the future one day at a time.
Command
People strong in the Command theme have presence. They can take control of a situation and make decisions.
Ideation
People strong in the Ideation theme are fascinated by ideas. They are able to find connections between seemingly disparate phenomena.
Strategic
People strong in the Strategic theme create alternative ways to proceed. Faced with any given scenario, they can quickly spot the relevant patterns and issues.
Popularity: 18% [?]
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