Cathy Stucker - The Idea Lady

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Focus Gets Things Done

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Bright shiny objects (BSOs) are the little things that glitter in your path as you move along in life. BSOs are usually more interesting than whatever you are currently working on because they are new and exciting.

Although many other traits in your power arsenal are also essential, I truly believe that focus is the driving force of them all.

It may not seem obvious how critical focus is to your success. What becomes obvious is what happens when you lack focus. You’re distracted from essential tasks. You become unproductive. You don’t get things done that need to be done. You spread your efforts over a variety of tasks instead of a few and end up working on a lot of things, but not getting anything done. You start feeling frustrated. You begin to believe that you can’t reach your goals, or you stop setting goals altogether, or at best you set simple goals that are easy to reach and not the “stretch goals” that can truly change your life.

Worst of all, the BSOs that contribute to your lack of focus cause you to feel unworthy of success altogether because you think that you aren’t capable of performing up to your capability. [Read more…]

One Resolution? Or Many?

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counting-on-fingersWith the start of the new year it seems that everyone is making New Year’s resolutions. While it’s extremely common to set a resolution, it’s unfortunately far less common to actually see it through. One reason is that people tend to take on too many goals at once. But how many is too many?

How Much Time Will Your Resolution Require?

Different resolutions take up different amounts of time. Some may even save you time. For example, if you resolve to limit your time on Facebook to less time than you currently spend there, you will have more time available to pursue other goals. On the other hand, if you resolve that this is the year you will finally write and publish your book, that will require that you devote some time, even if you choose to work on it just an hour or so a day.
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Are Your Goals SMART?

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smart-goalsDo you set goals such as “get more done” or “make more money” and then say that goal setting doesn’t work because you didn’t reach your goals? One problem is that you wouldn’t know if you did reach them. What does “more” mean—an increase of 10%? Doubling? Tripling? The first step toward getting what you want is setting SMART goals.

SMART is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-Based. Whether you are setting business or personal goals, SMART goal setting can help you set better goals, the kind of goals that you’re much more likely to achieve.

Let’s take a closer look at each part of a SMART goal: [Read more…]

Those Grand Resolutions

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This week’s Monday Morning Message from Wm. H. Danforth, founder of Ralston Purina:
What is the Monday Morning Message?

Along with the rest of the world, on New Year’s Day I made a lot of new resolutions. I felt good after making them—kind of satisfied with myself. But here it is the last of January and some of these grand resolutions are beginning to crack, and I’m looking for the reason. I think I have found it. You can’t create habits simply by resolving. Only indomitable persistence, trying and failing, and trying again and failing not so soon, will make those resolutions a reality.

I have a task to accomplish. I will eat moderately, play moderately, save moderately, but more than these, I will have a passion to overcome every influence that keeps me from being my best. I won’t be a flower that blooms only from January 1st January 15th. Not for a few days but all through the year I’ll make my life count.

Get out your resolutions, your aims, your quota, or whatever has been your goal. Then say, “I’ll make the flame of my resolve just as hot today, and in February, and throughout the year as on January 1st; and, by the Eternal, I’ll do it!”

Resolutions can fail us because, although we start with enthusiasm, that enthusiasm dims with the day-to-day reality of sticking with our resolutions.

One way to rekindle the excitement and commitment you felt when you made your resolutions is to look for ways to experience successes with them. Set intermediate goals that you can celebrate as you reach them. For example, instead of only focusing on your goal of losing 20 pounds, set an intermediate goal of losing five pounds. When you reach that, aim for the next five pounds.

Another is to have a goal partner. Your partner does not have to be working toward the same goals as you. By sharing your goals, holding each other accountable and enjoying your successes together, you will be inspired to continue working toward bigger and better goals.

The Plan for a New Year

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This week’s Monday Morning Message from Wm. H. Danforth, founder of Ralston Purina:
What is the Monday Morning Message?

Nobody loves an adventure any more than I, but you wouldn’t catch me setting sail over an uncharted sea with no maps to guide and a captain who didn’t know the way. Before I get on a ship I want to know what port it makes.

January 1st we all launch out into another year. Although we cannot tell what lies ahead, we can plan to avoid the shoals and danger points of other years. We can at least know what port we want to make. If you don’t know your destination, how can you ever hope to get there?

I’ve sailed across more years than many of you, and my navigation chart shows the shoals and cross currents and ice fields that must be avoided. My experience tells me that we are bound to meet with fogs and storms as well as sunshine and fair weather.

Take some time this week to chart your courses so as to avoid known dangers and difficulties and plan to reach port.

Where do you see yourself at this time next year? Do you want to be exactly where you are today, doing exactly what you are doing now? Or do you want to “explore new ports,” having new adventures along the way?

Perhaps your life and career are on the right path, and your goals and objectives relate to continuing on your present course. Or you may want to make major changes. Either way, knowing where you are headed makes it more likely that you will end up where you want to be.

As we come to the end of another year, this is a good time to take stock of where you are, contemplate where you want to be, and determine how to get from here to there.